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EDUCATION    FOR 
SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 


i 


i 


EDUCATION  FOR 
SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

A  STUDY  IN  THE  SOCIAL 
RELATIONS  OF  EDUCATION 


BY 

IRVING   KING,  Ph.D. 

w 

SCHOOL  OF  EDUCATION,  THE   STATE  UNIVERSITY   OF  IOWA 
AUTHOR  OF 

the  psychology  of  child  development,"  "  the  development  of 

religion:   a  study  in  social  psychology," 

"the  social  aspects  of  education" 


D.  APPLETON    AND   COMPANY 
NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 


L.C     ' 

K4- 


Copyright,  1913.  by 
D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 


PREFACE 

In  writing  the  pages  which  follow  the  author  has 
had  in  mind  not  so  much  the  interests  of  the  educa- 
tional specialist  as  the  practical  needs  of  busy  teachers 
and  parents.  He  has  attempted  to  present,  in  simple 
language,  and  largely  through  the  medium  of  illus- 
tration, a  social  view  of  education  which  is  coming 
more  and  more  to  prevail.  He  has  attempted  to 
show,  concretely,  various  ways  in  which  the  average 
teacher  and  parent  may  contribute  something  toward 
the  realization  of  the  ideal  of  social  efficiency  as 
the  goal  of  our  educational  enterprise. 

Let  not  the  reader  lose  his  perspective  as  he  finds 
the  social  point  of  view  constantly  dwelt  upon  in 
these  pages.  In  emphasizing  the  social  meanings  the 
author  has  not  been  unmindful  that  education  has 
other  important  meanings  and  values.  These  are, 
in  a  sense,  subordinate  to  the  social  values,  and,  in 
any  case,  they  have  received  their  share  of  attention 
elsewhere.  It  seems  legitimate,  therefore,  to  pass 
them  by  in  this  discussion. 

The  author  gratefully  acknowledges  his  indebted- 
ness to  Mr.  Walter  R.  Miles,  a  graduate  student  in 
the  State  University  of  Iowa,  for  his  generous  con- 


26^33 


vi  PREFACE 

tribution  to  Chapter  XVI  of  the  account  of  his  per- 
sonal experience  in  organizing  a  "Social  Center"  in  a 
small  country  town,  and  to  The  National  Congress 
of  Mothers,  for  permission  to  reprint  in  Chapter  V 
a  part  of  a  paper  written  originally  for  that  organi- 
zation and  published  in  Problems  of  Parents. 

Iowa  City,  January  i,  1913. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    The  Social  Origin  and  Function  of  Edu- 
cation         i^ 

11.     The  Social  Aim  of  Education      .        .  ii-^"^ 

III.  The  Rural   School  and   the   Rural   Com- 

munity        21 

IV.  Adapting  the  Country  School  to  Country 

Needs 43 

V.  The    Character-Forming    Possibilities    of 

Home  Life 71  — 

VI.  The    Cooperation    of    School    and    Com- 

munity       90  '^ 

VII.     Play  as  a  Factor  in  Social  Efficiency  109  "pT 

VIII.    The  Social  Basis  of  School  Incentives  123 

IX.    The    Opportunity    Afforded    by    the    In- 
ternal Life  of  the  School        .  138 
X.     School    Government,    an    Opportunity    for 

Social   Training    ....  158 
XI.    The  Social  Ideal  in  the  Curriculum  .  177 
XII.    The  Vocational  Interest  and  Social   Ef- 
ficiency             199*^      * 

XIII.  Vocational    Guidance,    an    Aid   to    Social 

Efficiency 219 

XIV.  The  Method  of  Instruction  as  Determined 

BY  the  Social  Ideal     >.        .        .  232-^ 

XV.    The      Character- Forming      Influence  of 

Group-Work 252 

XVI.    The  School  as  a  Social  Center    .        .  262 

XVII.    The  School  and  Social  Progress  .        .  280 

vii 


CaLjI' 


Education 
For  Social  Efficiency 


CHAPTER   I 

THE  SOCIAL  ORIGIN  AND  FUNCTION  OF 
EDUCATION 

Education  a  Social  Process. — The  abstract  statement 
that  education  is  a  social  process,  a  social  enterprise, 
will  gain  easy  assent,  but  so  complex  are  the  currents 
of  the  modern  world  that  it  may  be  lost  sight  of  as 
a  practical  truth.  The  social  relations  of  education 
are  so  many-sided  and  so  important  that  they  may, 
for  that  very  reason,  be  unappreciated,  as  one  may 
fail  to  see  the  forest  for  the  trees. 

Even  in  its  very  earliest  forms  education  was  a 
social  undertaking.  The  primitive  tribes  of  to-day 
illustrate  this  fact  in  their  methods  of  training  their 
children.  Indeed  we  may  get  important  light  upon 
the  basic  social  principles  of  education  by  turning 
for  a  brief  space  to  consider  these  beginnings,  or  at 
least  these  simpler  stages  of  the  education  process. 

The  Beginnings  of  Education. — Some  sort  of  child- 
training  all  savage  tribes  have,  partly  informal,  and 
partly  directed  by  conscious  purpose.  Crude  though 
their  culture  may  be  they  always   have   something 


,\  ;  fepUGATipN  ;  FDR    SOCIAL    EFFICIENCY 

which  they  must  needs  impart  to  their  children,  if 
the  latter  are  to  become  efficient  members  of  the 
adult  society.  In  fact  the  very  continuance  of  the 
tribe  upon  the  human  level  requires  that  the  children 
should  receive  and  learn  to  profit  by  the  experience 
of  their  parents. 

Since  the  survival  of  the  primitive  group  depends 
upon  the  educability  of  its  children  it  would  not  be 
strange  if  the  capacity  both  to  teach  and  to  learn  were 
bred  into  the  human  race  by  natural  selection.  The 
groups  which  exhibited  some  slight  tendency  along 
these  lines  would  have  an  advantage  over  the  groups 
which  had  it  not,  and  they  would  be  the  ones  to  sur- 
vive. As  for  the  very  beginning  of  education  it  was 
probably  quite  without  any  definite  purpose  on  the 
part  of  the  elders  to  instruct.  It  depended,  rather, 
upon  a  little  superior  imitativeness  in  the  children. 
Not  merely  among  savages,  but  among  people  in  all 
stages  of  culture,  it  is  imitativeness  which  lies  at  the 
basis  of  education.  It  is  this  quality  which  makes 
the  child  open  and  receptive  to  the  experience  of  his 
elders.  The  formal  agencies  of  instruction  are  but 
specializations  of  social  activity  which  render  the 
imitation  of  certain  important  elements  of  a  people's 
culture  less  open  to  chance;  in  other  words,  the  for- 
mal means  supplement,  at  certain  points  only,  the 
action  of  undirected  imitation. 

The  Place  of  Imitation. — Many  observers  tell  us  of 
the  great  imitativeness  of  the  children  of  the  primi- 
tive races.  This  readiness  to  copy  everything  seen 
is  apparently  the  main  method  of  learning  among  the 
Baganda,  an  African  people.  In  Roscoe's  careful 
study  of  these  tribes  no  mention  is  made  of  any  for- 


ORIGIN   AND   FUNCTION 

mal  attempts  to  teach  the  children  anything  but  to 
count.  The  simple  daily  intercourse  of  the  children 
with  the  rest  of  the  community  is  probably  the  main 
avenue  of  their  learning.  As  to  their  power  to  imi- 
tate Roscoe  says  they  "may  be  seen  making  toy 
guns  after  the  pattern  of  those  used  by  their  fathers. 
Those  toy  guns  are  so  well  made  that,  when  the  trig- 
gers are  pulled,  they  make  a  sharp  report.  Bicycles 
have  been  cleverly  imitated  by  boys,  with  wheels  and 
spokes  made  of  reeds.  Once  an  idea  has  been  pre- 
sented to  them  they  are  quick  to  seize  it,  and,  with 
but  a  few  tools  and  the  common  materials  around 
them,  to  turn  out  the  most  cunningly  devised 
articles."  Dudley  Kidd,  writing  of  the  Kafirs, 
says:  "Faculties,  such  as  cunning  and  imitation, 
seem  to  be  developed  in  black  children  at  an  even 
earlier  age  than  in  the  case  of  white  children. 
No  farmer's  boy  in  England  could  make  such  excel- 
lent bird-traps  at  the  age  of  three  as  the  Kafir  child 
can." 

Much  of  the  material  culture  of  his  tribe  the  sav- 
age child  can  thus  pick  up  by  mere  contact  with  those 
older  than  himself.  He  sees  and  participates  daily  in 
almost  every  phase  of  the  tribe's  economic  and  social 
life.  There  is  nothing  remote  or  unusual  about  any- 
thing. It  is  all  there  before  him  and  he  can  try  his 
hand  at  it  as  he  pleases.  The  value  of  all  the  tribal 
knowledge  and  skill  is  also  immediately  apparent. 
Everything  he  learns  fits  in  directly  with  the  life  he 
leads  day  by  day.  Among  the  Kafirs  "the  smallest 
children  are  taught  to  be  polite,  and  this  constitutes 
their  first  lesson.  Obedience  to  parents  hardly  needs 
to  be  taught,   for  the  children  notice  how  everyone 

3 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

in  the  kraal  is  instinctively  obedient  to  the  old 
men;  the  children  catch  this  spirit  without  know- 
ing it." 

The  Beginnings  of  Formal  Instruction. — But,  impor- 
tant as  imitation  is,  it  is  generally  supplemented  by 
some  formal  instruction,  even  in  barbarous  societies. 
The  religious  rites  and  the  myths  are  usually  too  com- 
plex to  be  acquired  and  understood  through  imitation 
alone. 

Among  some  of  the  Australian  natives  it  is  said 
that  "the  old  men  in  their  leisure  time  instructed 
the  younger  ones  in  the  laws  of  the  tribe,  impressing 
on  them  modesty  of  behavior  and  propriety  of  con- 
duct, as  they  understood  it,  and  pointing  out  to  them 
the  heinousness  of  certain  crimes."  Familiar  social 
communication  within  the  family  and  neighborhood 
was  not  only  the  first  and  simplest  avenue  of  formal 
education:  it  has  remained,  in  all  ages  and  in  all 
stages  of  culture,  one  of  its  most  important  means. 
The  more  formal  agencies  have  been  but  special  de- 
velopments from  this  broad  matrix  of  social  inter- 
course. Social  intercourse  gives  the  setting,  the  back- 
ground, and  determines  the  relationships  of  the  for- 
mal agencies.  It  fills  in  the  gaps  and  makes  up  the 
deficiencies  of  that  type  of  instruction. 

The  Function  of  Formal  Instruction. — -Formal  educa- 
tion, neither  in  the  beginning,  nor  ever,  for  that  mat- 
ter, has  been  concerned  with  imparting  to  the  child 
all  the  culture  of  his  people.  It  has  centered,  rather, 
around  certain  customs  and  religious  beliefs,  that 
seemed  too  important  to  be  left  to  chance.  It  was 
and  is  in  the  daily  life  in  the  group,  however,  that  the 
child  gained   a  living  appreciation   of  what  he  re- 


ORIGIN   AND   FUNCTION 

ceived  through  formal  instruction,  if,  indeed,  the  lat- 
ter was  to  have  any  meaning  at  all. 

When  formal  instruction  is  given  to  the  savage 
child  it  is  usually  an  undertaking  which  occupies  the 
attention  and  energy  of  the  whole  tribe.  The  initia- 
tion ceremonies,  common  among  most  barbarous 
peoples,  represent  the  beginnings  of  schooling,  and 
they  are  of  especial  interest  to  us  in  this  connection, 
because  they  are  so  clearly  social  undertakings.  The 
initiation  ceremonies  constitute  the  course  of  instruc- 
tion given  the  savage  boy  as  he  approaches  maturity. 
By  them  he  is  prepared  for  the  duties  of  manhood, 
which  consist,  not  merely  in  his  being  able  to  take 
care  of  himself,  but  also  in  his  being  a  worthy  mem- 
ber of  the  tribe  and  sharing  in  the  various  obligations 
it  imposes  upon  all  adult  members. 

These  ceremonies  are  usually  performed  at  some 
stated  time  of  the  year  and  may  continue  for  weeks 
or  even  months.  All  the  older  members  of  the  com- 
munity are  the  teachers.  The  whole  tribe  unites  in 
the  important  social  function  of  testing  and  teaching 
its  boys.  This  is  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  elabo- 
rate ceremonials  of  the  aborigines  of  Australia,  At 
these  times  the  old  men  set  a  time,  take  the  boys  of 
proper  age,  and  put  them  through  various  mental 
and  physical  tests,  in  addition  to  instructing  them  in 
all  the  legends  and  customs  of  their  people.  The  en- 
durance of  the  boys  is  tested  in  many  trying  ways, 
such  as  going  for  days  without  food,  undergoing 
severe  physical  pain,  to  see  whether  they  have  suffi- 
cient hardihood  and  self-control  to  be  admitted  to 
the  society  of  adults  and  bear  their  share  of  the 
responsibilities  of  tribal  life.     No  special  class  in  the 

5 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

community  is  set  apart  as  teachers,  unless  it  be  the 
oldest  men.  Literally  the  whole  social  group  takes  a 
hand  in  the  instruction. 

The  Aim  of  Primitive  Education. — One  acute  student 
of  the  primitive  races  says:  "The  educational  sys- 
tem of  the  savage  v^as  designed  to  secure  the  solidar- 
ity of  the  group,  not  to  convey  a  body  of  exact  knowl- 
edge. The  formal  instruction  was  mainly  moral;  the 
occupational  practice  was  picked  up  informally.  The 
food  regulations  of  the  Australians  are  a  striking 
example  of  the  thoroughness  with  which  moral  in- 
structions were  imparted." 

It  is  manifestly  of  supreme  importance  that  a  prim- 
itive tribe  should  form  a  well-knit  collective  life, 
bound  together  by  common  customs  and  common  in- 
terests. Likewise  it  should  be  composed  of  men  and 
women  able  to  endure  privation  and  hardship,  and 
loyal  under  all  circumstances  to  the  interests  of  the 
whole  group.  Consequently  in  large  part  the  initia- 
tion ceremonies  are  devoted  to  impressing  upon  the 
youths  the  sanctity  of  tribal  custom,  and  in  inspiring 
in  them  a  profound  respect  for  the  older  men  and 
women  as  representatives  of  the  social  life.  Respect 
for  the  old  men  is  illustrated  by  the  following  words 
of  Spencer  and  Gillen,  with  reference  to  the  Central 
Australians:  "It  may  be  noted  here  that  the  defer- 
ence paid  to  the  old  men  during  the  ceremonies  of 
examining  the  churinga  [sacred  objects]  is  most 
marked;  no  young  man  thinks  of  speaking  unless  he 
be  first  addressed  by  one  of  the  older  men,  and  then 
he  listens  solemnly  to  all  that  the  latter  tells  him  .  .  . 
The  old  man,  just  referred  to,  was  especially  looked 
up  to  as  an  oknirahata,  or  great  instructor,  a  term 

6 


ORIGIN  AND   FUNCTION 

which  is  only  applied,  as  in  this  case,  to  men  who 
are  not  only  old,  but  learned  in  all  the  customs  and 
traditions  of  the  tribe,  and  whose  influence  is  well 
seen  at  the  ceremonies — where  the  greatest  deference 
is  paid  them.  A  man  may  be  old,  very  old,  indeed, 
but  yet  never  attain  to  the  rank  of  oknirahataf' 

Schools  as  a  Social  Division  of  Labor. — The  develop- 
ment of  formal  agencies  of  instruction,  the  begin- 
nings of  which  we  have  pointed  out  in  the  initia- 
tion rites  of  savage  tribes,  may  be  regarded  as  one  of 
the  many  divisions  of  labor  which  become  needful 
as  society  develops  from  the  primitive  to  the  civilized 
level.  The  school,  as  an  institution,  and  teaching, 
as  a  profession,  are  but  phases  of  the  inevitable 
growth  in  complexity  of  a  progressive  social  or- 
ganism. 

Education  and  Evolution. — Education  has  been,  from 
the  beginning,  a  social  necessity,  so  thoroughly 
grounded  in  human  need  as  to  be  almost,  if  not  en- 
tirely, instinctive  in  its  origin.  Its  development  has 
been  closely  associated  with  the  changes  which  we 
call,  for  want  of  a  better  term,  social  progress.  In- 
deed, were  it  not  for  the  educability  of  the  child,  and 
were  it  not  for  the  readiness  of  the  adult  to  instruct 
him,  progress  of  any  sort  would  be  infinitely  slow, 
if  not  altogether  impossible.  It  has  often  been 
pointed  out  that  the  development  of  conscious,  intelli- 
gent life  has  wrought  a  radical  change  in  the  char- 
acter and  method  of  evolution.  Through  all  the  un- 
told ages  lying  back  of  the  human  race,  progress  was 
inconceivably  slow.  To  our  limited  range  of  vision  and 
to  our  still  more  limited  understanding  of  the  under- 
lying causes  of  development,  the  whole  course  of  the 

7 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

development  of  living  forms  on  our  planet  seems  to 
have  been  little  better  than  a  blind  struggle.  Of 
course  we  may  feel  that,  underneath  it  all,  there  has 
been  an  intelligent  purpose,  and  that  this  purpose  has 
wrought  order  out  of  chaos,  has  brought  up  the 
higher  from  the  lower,  and  led  all  forward  to  the 
working  out  of  some  high  plan.  Whatever  our 
philosophy  of  life  and  its  development  may  be,  we 
at  least  can  see  that  the  steps  forward  in  the  lower 
orders  of  life  have  been  by  most  minute  gradations, 
and  that  every  point  gained  was  accomplished  with 
a  prodigal  wastefulness,  both  of  time  and  of  life 
itself. 

In  striking  contrast  with  these  processes  by  which 
that  which  was  worth  while  was  preserved  in  the 
plant  and  in  the  animal,  stands  the  course  of  human 
development.  Man,  equipped  with  at  least  a  clearer 
self -consciousness  than  the  brute  world,  and  certainly 
with  a  power  of  choice  and  a  capacity  to  utilize  his 
environment  far  beyond  that  of  any  form  beneath 
him,  has  become  more  and  more  a  positive  agent  in 
the  evolutionary  process.  To  be  sure  he  is  still  sub- 
ject in  very  definite  ways  to  the  natural  forces  which 
produced  him.  There  are  limitations  to  his  control 
which  will  probably  always  continue  to  operate.  But, 
even  though  he  cannot  take  everything  into  his  own 
hands,  he  can  do  something,  and  the  story  of  human 
progress,  as  we  know  it,  is  largely  the  story  of  what 
man  can  accomplish  by  even  slightly  modifying  the 
action  of  natural  forces.  Slowly  but  surely  the  physi- 
cal environment  has  been  made  over,  and  the  world 
has  been  subdued.  The  forces  of  nature  that  once 
terrorized  and  afflicted,  while  not  entirely  mastered. 


ORIGIN   AND   FUNCTION 

have  at  least  been  made  to  minister  to  his  comfort. 

A  variety  of  factors  have  cooperated  to  make  these 
things  possible.  Among  them  have  been  a  superior 
capacity  of  memory  and  a  corresponding  ability  to 
compare  the  results  of  experience,  and  to  profit  by 
them.  Each  individual  now  has,  on  the  whole,  done 
comparatively  little,  but  there  is  always  the  possi- 
bility that  the  little  that  he  is  able  to  do  will  be  pre- 
served and  that  others  may  add  their  little  to  it, 
consciously,  purposely,  and  not  blindly.  The  results 
of  experience,  instead  of  being  wasted  altogether,  or 
accumulating  by  infinitely  slow  gradations  through 
natural  selection,  may  thus  gather  and  become  avail- 
able with  comparative  rapidity.  When  it  seems  to 
us  that  the  majority  of  men  are  blind  and  that  their 
behavior  is  guided  by  impulse  rather  than  by  wise 
understanding,  we  can  reassure  ourselves  by  the  re- 
flection that  even  thus  the  period  of  time  covered  by 
the  human  race  is  but  a  day  in  comparison  with  the 
unmeasured  ages  which  have  preceded. 

The  Method  of  Education. — Halting  though  man's 
advance  seems  to  be,  it  has  been  rapid  in  comparison 
with  the  progress  of  life  on  pre-human  stages.  In 
a  large  and  real  sense  education  is  the  instrument 
which  has  made  this  possible.  It  is  the  agency 
through  which  conscious  purpose  and  choice  have 
operated  toward  progress.  The  means  by  which  this 
has  been  accomplished  in  times  past  have  been  the  giv- 
ing to  each  child,  as  far  as  possible,  the  experience  of 
adult  society.  In  this  way  each  generation  presum- 
ably starts  off  with  approximately  the  same  equipment 
as  the  previous  ones.  In  the  course  of  its  further 
growth  it  may  possibly  learn  more,  and  thus,  little  by 
2  9 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

little,  the  fund  of  culture  grows.  It  is  only  a  part 
of  the  business  of  education,  however,  to  assist  in 
the  acquisition  of  knowledge.  It  has  always  at- 
tempted also  to  traiUj  to  discipline  the  child,  to  culti- 
vate in  him  capacity  and  power. 

The  method  of  accomplishing  these  latter  ends, 
however,  is  far  less  perfectly  worked  out  than  that 
of  instruction  in  the  lore  of  the  past.  The  develop- 
ment of  power  is  supposed  to  come  through  the  ac- 
quisition of  knowledge.  But  this  is  not  necessarily  the 
case.  We  are  only  beginning  to  appreciate  the  possi- 
bilities of  education  if  it  may  but  enlarge  the  scope  of 
its  efforts  and  put  the  development  of  efficiency  in  the 
child  upon  a  scientific  basis. 

Knowledge,  discipline,  efficiency,  how  then  are  they 
to  be  secured?  What  means  are  open  to  us  that  we 
may  utilize  to  the  best  advantage  the  capacities  which 
each  new  generation  brings  with  it?  These  questions 
suggest  a  new  and  larger  view  of  education.  To  an- 
swer them  properly  requires  a  clear  appreciation  of  the 
many  social  relations  and  functions  of  the  educative 
process. 


CHAPTER    II 
THE   SOCIAL  AIM  OF  EDUCATION 

The  Social  Aim. — From  what  has  been  said  of  edu- 
cation as  a  social  enterprise  and  of  its  necessity  as 
a  means,  both  of  maintaining  existing  culture  and 
of  promoting  social  progress,  we  may  naturally  con- 
clude that  some  sort  of  social  end  or  aim  should  be 
at  the  basis  of  all  educational  endeavor.  In  earlier 
times  this  fact  was  only  dimly  appreciated,  and,  even 
to-day,  it  has  scarcely  descended  from  the  realm  of 
vague  theory.  The  need,  however,  of  a  thoroughly 
concrete,  practical  conception  of  the  social  end  of 
education  is  thrusting  itself  upon  us.  Already  many 
and  diverse  forces  are  grappling  with  the  problem  of 
giving  our  children  a  really  adequate  preparation  for 
modern  life.  There  is  the  greatest  need  that  the 
serious  student  of  education  should  think  through  the 
present  situation,  complex  though  it  is,  and  baffling 
though  its  tendencies  are,  and  attempt  to  evaluate 
what  is  being  done  and  interpret  it  according  to  some 
unifying  principles.    -^ 

While  it  is  true  that  direct  and  fearless  attempts  $  '9 
to  meet  an  insistent  need  or  solve  a  pressing  problem 
usually  precede  scientific  interpretations,  it  is  neces- 
sary for  reflection  and  interpretation  to  follow  closely, 
if  these  first  endeavors  are  to  bear  good  fruit.  Re- 
flection and  theory  are  not  something  apart  from  ac- 
tion, as  we  often  hear.    They  are  most  necessary  that 

II 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

action  may  be  really  successful.  Successful  educa- 
tional work  must  depend,  therefore,  both  upon  deter- 
mined and  energetic  action  and  upon  clear,  penetrat- 
ing insight  into  the  situations  in  which  we  work,  the 
needs  of  these  situations,  and  the  relationships  of 
these  needs  to  the  still  larger  problems  of  our  modem 
social  order. 

Eeasons  for  Individualistic  Ideals. — There  has 
never  been  a  time  when  true  education  did  not  have 
a  social  function  and  a  social  end.  How,  then,  can 
we  explain  the  individuahstic  conceptions  of  educa- 
tion which  have  been  common  in  the  past?  Chiefly 
on  the  ground  that  the  social  environment  in  which 
children  lived,  and  the  duties  which  this  environment 
carried  with  it,  supplejijented  the  methods  and  ideals 
of  formal  instruction.^  Considering  the  narrow  philos- 
ophy of  the  school  master,  the  product  was  usually 
better  than  might  have  been  expected. 

It  is  really  not  strange  that  individualistic  ideals 
should  tmderlie  much  of  our  educational  practice. 
The  individual  child  is  always  before  the  "teacher. 
His  individual  and  peculiar  difficulties  are  always 
claiming  her  attention.  The  teacher's  immediate 
problem  is  to  train  this  individual  in  order  that  he 
may,  as  far  as  possible,  have  good  habits  of  speech 
and  of  conduct;  that  he  may  know  at  least  a  little  of 
arithmetic,  of  geography,  of  history,  and  so  forth.  If 
she  is  a  person  of  high  ideals,  she  hopes,  as  a  result  of 
his  school  study,  that  he  may  acquire  a  trained  eye, 
hand,  and  ear,  a  sound  judgment,  a  love  of  the  beau- 
tiful and  the  good. 

With  attention  centered  on  the  problem  of  instruct- 
ing and  training  the  individual  pupil  it  is  easy  for 

12 


THE   SOCIAL  AIM   OF   EDUCATION 

the  teacher  to  conceive  of  the  goal  of  her  work  as 
the  harmonious  development  of  all  the  capacities  of 
the  pupil,  or,  if  this  be  too  broad  a  program,  then 
the  training  of  a  part  of  his  powers,  so  that  he  may 
be  able  to  make  a  living  for  himself,  or  engage  in 
some  honorable  work. 

It  is  not  merely,  however,  because  the  attention  of 
the  teacher  has  been  centered  on  the  individual  pupil 
that  the  educational  aims  of  the  past  have  tended  to 
be  individualistic.  This  point  of  view  has  largely 
dominated  every  phase  of  life.  The  church  has  often 
held  the  salvation  of  the  individual  soul  as  its  ideal. 
The  industrial  world  worshiped  and  still  worships  in- 
dividual successT^ociety  in  general  idealizes  the  hero, 
the  great  man,  the  man  of  prowess,  physical  and  in- 
tellectual, the  person  of  superior  personality. 

All  this  idealization  of  individual  success  came 
about,  not  because  man  ~w&  not  a  social  being,  but  ^ 
because  social  relations  and  social  dependence  had 
not  come  clearly  to  consciousness,  because  in  the  sim- 
pler life  of  the  past  these  relations  did  not  thrust  them- 
selves upon  people's  attention.  They  were  matters  of 
course — they  took  care  of  themselves.  The  child  re- 
ceived his  training  in  social  relations  and  duties  in 
simpler  and  more  informal  ways  outside  the  school.  A^- 
was  noted  -above,  however,  formal  instruction  devel- 
oped among  primitive  peoples  to  meet  the  deficiencies 
of  informal  social  intercourse.  It  was  devised  as  a 
means  of  insuring  that  the  child  should  learn  certain 
things  which  he  would  not  be  able  to  learn  satisfac- 
torily if  he  were  left  to  pick  up  things  for  himself 
by  imitation  and  simple  contact  with  the  life  that 
was  going  on  daily  about  him.     As  culture  increased 

13 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

in  complexity,  more  and  more  of  the  burden  of  edu- 
cation had  to  be  shifted  to  formal  agencies,  specifi- 
cally to  the  school. 

A  New  Point  of  View  Needed. — Precisely  this  sort  of 
situation  is  rendering  it  imperative  to-day  that  these 
old  individualistic  conceptions  of  education  be  recon- 
sidered and  that  a  new  type  of  endeavor  be  under- 
taken by  the  school. 

^  It  is  clear  to  us  to-day  that  none  of  these  individual 
excellences  v^^ould  have  any  value,  or,  indeed,  mean 
anything,  except  as  our  pupil  lives  and  works  among 
other  people.  'Of  what  worth  are  knowledge,  skill, 
culture,  except  as  they  enable  him  to  live  more  effi- 
ciently among  his  fellow-men?  His  whole  life  is 
inevitably  bound  up  with  other  people"?  "What  is  good 
and  wise  for  him  must  be  ^ood  and  wise  for  others. 
His  welfare  or  success  can  in  no  wise  be  separated 
from  that  of  his  associates.  Thus  the  common  wel- 
fare furnishes  the  standard  for  estimating  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  educative  process  in  each  and  every  in- 
dividual capacity. 

t^  Social  Training  of  the  Child. — Individual  capacities 
each  child  has,  and  the  object  of  education  is  to  train 
them.  There  is  no  other  course  open  to  the  teacher 
than  to  begin  with  this  same  individual  pupil.  He, 
with  his  plastic  mind  and  muscles,  is  the  inevitable 
raw  material.  The  question  is  not  shall  the  child  be 
trained,  but  rather  how  shall  he  be  trained.  If  he  is 
to  be  an  active  member  of  society,  shall  he  be  trained 
with  this  object  in  mind,  or  shall  the  development  of 
each  capacity  proceed  as  if  he  were  a  self-sufficient, 
isolated  unit,   living  entirely  unto  himself? 

Live  and  work  with  other  people  he  must,  and,  if 

14 


THE    SOCIAL   AIM    OF   EDUCATION 

the  school  does  not  give  him  suitable  training,  he  will 
have  to  get  it  in  other  ways  if  he  gets  it  at  all.  He 
may  never  get  it,  or  he  may  get  it  only  imperfectly. 
That  is,  while  living  with  other  people  and  working 
with  them,  he  does  so  with  friction  and  difficulty, 
not  realizing  either  for  himself  or  for  the  community 
the  maximum  of  good.  v^ 

Social  Training  in  Home  and  Neighborhood. — As  v:^ 
have  stated  before,  the  social  values  of  education  were 
in  the  past  secured  in  many  ways  outside  of  school. 
Life  was  complex  enough,  it  is  true,  and  presented 
many  difficult  social  problems,  but  these  problems  were 
largely  met  by  man's  instinctive  social  equipnieiTt. 
The  primitive  ideals  of  the  family  and  of  the  neigh- 
borhood were  in  the  main  sufficient  to  meet  and  solve 
such  problems  as  thrust  themselves  upon  people's  at- 
tention. In  these  small  social  groups  the  conception 
of  social  unity,  and  such  ideals  as  loyalty,  kindness, 
truthfulness,  lawfulness,  were  largely  instinctive.  They/^3 
have,  from  time  immemorial,  characterized  such  in- 
timate human  associations.  The  family  and  neigh- 
borhood groups  were  necessary  to  the  most  elementary 
phases  of  social  development,  and  no  family  or  neigh- 
borhood could  endure  that  did  not  develop  as  funda- 
mental instincts  in  its  members  these  ideals  of  mutual 
helpfulness,  kindness,  and  truthfulness.  These  are 
elementary  qualities  of  human  nature  in  all  small 
groups  of  people  the  world  over,  both  barbarous  and 
civilized.  They  are  found  conspicuously  in  the  lowest 
levels  of  culture,  and  they  are  found  among  ourselves 
in  all  those  situations  which  bring  us  into  intimate 
personal  acquaintance  and  daily  association  with  one 
another.    Mankind's  whole  code  of  morals  and  theory 

15 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

of  right  conduct  have  been  built  up  upon  the  basis  of 
these  elementary  virtues  of  the  home  and  the  neigh- 
borhood. As  long  as  the  life  of  the  individual  was 
lived  largely  in  these  simple  situations,  as  long  as 
there  was  little  to  carry  him  outside  of  them  into  far- 
reaching  relationship  with  the  world  at  large,  he  found 
in  this  family  and  neighborhood  life  a  fairly  adequate 
socializing  medium. 

Recent  Growth  of  Human  Relations. — The  last  cen- 
tury, however,  has  immensely  increased  the  reach  of 
human  life.  Man's  vocational  activities  have  broad- 
ened in  their  scope.  More  and  more  has  he  been  led 
out  of  the  narrow,  primitive  relation  of  family  and 
neighborhood  and  drawn  into  contact  with  larger  and 
larger  groups  of  people.  This  increase  in  the  scope 
of  our  relationships  has  vastly  extended  the  influence 
of  our  simplest  acts.  Our  conduct,  whether  good  or 
bad,  to-day  affects  not  alone  the  little  narrow  groups 
in  which  we  live,  but  even  people  whom  we  may  not 
know  intimately,  or  perhaps  never  see  at  all. 
'  Under  the  influence  of  these  conditions  every  type 
of  industry  has  developed  new  phases  and  problems, 
the  family  shows  signs  of  radical  modification,  the 
old-time  neighborhood  is  already,  in  many  localities, 
a  thing  of  the  past.  In  a  word,  present-day  life 
throws  the  individual  into  a  host  of  social  relations 
and  arouses  him  to  a  consciousness  of  a  host  of  knotty 
problems  that  never  appeared  in  the  primitive  com- 
munity or  family. 

Difficulties  of  Social  Adjustment. — While,  therefore, 
the  old-time  society  educated  its  children  informally, 
the  new  social  order  presents  such  difficulties  of  social 
adjustment  that  the  present-day  child  is  scarcely  able 

j6 


THE    SOCIAL   AIM    OF   EDUCATION 

to  fit  into  it,  and  live  a  really  satisfactory  life,  unless 
these  new  social  relations  are  made  a  more  conscious 
element  in  his  formal  training.  He  needs,  in  other 
words,  a  distinctively  social  training.  The  social  rela- 
tions and  opportunities  of  school  and  neighborhood 
must  be  utilized  to  prepare  him  for  the  complex  life 
he  must  live.  And  all  this  not  merely  that  he  may 
be  more  efficient  as  an  individual  in  this  larger  life, 
better  able  to  make  his  own  personal  way  in  more 
intricate  surroundings,  but  that  he  may  be  better  able 
to  carry  over  into  his  broader  relationships  the  ele- 
mentary virtues  of  the  home  and  of  the  neighborhood. 
Indeed,  more  and  more  it  becomes  apparent  that  mod- 
ern society  needs  to  be  humanized  and  moralized,  if  it 
is  to  endure,  just  as  this  was  needful  in  the  simple 
primitive  community.  The  moralization  of  the  primi- 
tive community  was  accomplished  without  any  definite 
reflective  purpose.  It  gradually  developed  under  the 
influence  of  natural  selection,  just  because  it  was  im- 
possible for  these  little  groups  of  people  to  survive 
except  as  they  were  bound  together  by  a  sort  of  ele- 
mentary consideration  for  each  other.  Their  goodness 
was  as  natural  and  instinctive  as  was  everything  else 
that  pertained  to  their  lives. 

Economic  Development  Precedes  Social. — Modern  so- 
ciety, however,  is  the  result  of  a  more  or  less  definite 
conscious  evolution.  If  it  has  not  been  guided  by 
any  broad,  comprehensive  aim,  in  which  everyone  has 
participated,  it  has  at  least  been  made  what  it  is  by 
a  vast  number  of  partial  purposes,  which  are  largely 
economic.  The  maladjustment  of  human  energies  and 
resources  is  in  the  main  due  to  an  excessive  develop- 
ment along  economic  lines,  accompanied  by  a  -great 

17 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

increase  in  population,  without  a  corresponding  de- 
velopment of  those  ideals  of  social  relationship  which, 
in  the  simple  primitive  community,  coordinated  and 
kept  a  proper  balance  in  these  other  phases  of  life. 
In  other  words^he  social  nature  of  the  modern  man 
has  not  grown  fast  enough  to  keep  up  with  his 
economic  progress.  The  problem  that  confronts  us 
to-day  is  that  of  extending,  and,  if  necessary,  recon- 
structing, the  social  ideals  of  a  simpler  social  order, 
that  they  may  dominate  the  life  of  the  modern  world, 
with  its  greatly  diversified  activities  and  the  hosts  of 
problems  that  have  grown  out  of  these  multiplied  and 
enlarged   interests. 

The  same  sort  of  conscious  purpose  which  has 
wrought  the  changes  in  the  economic  life  must  appear 
in  the  development  of  a  social  morality  which  is  ade- 
quate to  these  new  conditions ;  a  social  morality  which 
can  unify  diverse  and  conflicting  interests  and  con- 
serve human  welfare  in  the  midst  of  the  great  modern 
machine  of  production,  distribution,  and  consumption, 
which  man  himself  has  constructed;  a  social  morality 
which  will,  in  a  word,  save  man  from  the  monster  of 
his  own  creation. 

Readjustment  Throngli  Education. — All  of  this  must 
be  accomplished  through  education,  meaning  by  edu- 
cation the  entire  process  by  which  human  nature  is 
trained  and  instructed.  And  this  education  must  be 
largely  wrought  out  through  the  school.  The  ideal 
of  a  social  life  adequate  to  modern  conditions  of  liv- 
ing must  take  its  place  as  an  object  of  explicit  and 
conscious  training,  just  because  it  is  too  complex 
and  difficult  to  attain  in  any  other  way.  In  fact 
such    an    ideal    may    be    regarded    as    including    all 

i8 


THE   SOCIAL  AIM   OF   EDUCATION 

others.  Properly  interpreted  it  is  the  real  ideal  of  all 
education. 

A  Workable  Social  Ideal. — ^As  we  have  already 
pointed  out,  men  were  not  less  social  creatures  when 
their  conscious  ideals  in  religion  and  in  education,  for 
instance,  centered  upon  individual  development  and 
upon  individual  perfection.  They  were  social  then, 
as  now,  but  upon  a  smaller  scale,  and  the  social  train- 
ing, which  the  educational  ideal  did  not  explicitly  pro- 
vide for,  took  care  of  itself.  1  Since  the  life  of  to-day 
makes  such  heavy  and  unforeseen  demands  upon  the 
social  nature  of  its  members,  the  time  has  come  when 
a  definite  social  conception  of  education  must  displace 
the  older  individualistic  conceptions,  a  social  concep- 
tion which  will  not  be  held  as  a  bit  of  mere  abstract 
philosophy,  but  which  will  rather  react  explicitly  and 
constantly  upon  the  every-day  work  of  teaching  in 
every  type  of  school,    w-^  tv 

Social  Efficiency. — Such  an  ideal  has  already  been 
formulated  and  is  common  in  some  form  or  other  in 
almost  all  recent  educational  discussion.  It  has  been 
best  stated  as  the  ideal  of  social  efficiency.  In  this 
brief  form,  however,  it  is  not  a  very  intelligible  nor 
a  very  practicable  conception.  It  needs  to  be  definitely 
enlarged  and  definitely  applied.  What  does  it  mean 
to  be  socially  efficient,  and  what  are  the  means  of  at- 
taining that  condition  when  once  we  have  satisfied  our- 
selves as  to  what  it  is? 

These  questions  cannot  be  answered  briefly.  There 
are  many  things  to  consider,  many  needs  to  evaluate, 
and  many  types  of  situations  to  examine.  Because  of 
its  scope  and  complexity,  the  modern  social  need  can- 
not be  met  in  any  simple  way,  or  through  one  or  a  few 

19 


EDUCATION  FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

pet  schemes  or  devices.  If  it  is  to  be  adequately  met  it 
must  be  through  a  complete  reconstruction  and  utili- 
zation of  every  element  and  factor  in  the  educational 
process, 
v-^  Definition  of  the  Ideal. — It  is  the  object  of  the  chap- 
ters which  follow  to  define  and  render  workable  the 
ideal  of  social  efficiency,  to  present  a  number  of  con- 
crete situations  with  their  manifest  needs,  and  to  state, 
in  a  preliminary  way,  at  least,  what  social  efficiency 
in  these  situations  means,  as  well  as  the  ways  in  which 
it  is  being  accomplished,  and  may  be  still  better  ac- 
complished. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE   RURAL   SCHOOL   AND   THE   RURAL 
COMMUNITY 

The  Rural  School  Problem. — Following  our  plan  of 
defining  the  social  end  of  education,  and  of  presenting 
it  as  a  concrete  and  workable  ideal  for  the  practical 
teacher  we  shall  take  up  first  the  situation  and  the 
problem  presented  by  the  rural  school  and  the  rural 
community.  In  many  respects  this  is  the  best  point  at 
which  to  begin  our  study.  It  is  the  logical  beginning, 
because  the  rural  school,  while  not  the  original  Ameri- 
can educative  institution,  nevertheless  does  represent 
the  type  from  which  much  of  present-day  American 
education  has  developed.  This  is  especially  true  of 
those  phases  which  have  sprung  up  in  the  great  Cen- 
tral and  Western  sections  of  the  country.  In  all  these 
regions  the  rural  school  was  long  the  predominant 
type,  and,  if  it  did  not  furnish  altogether  the  pattern 
on  which  the  city  school  was  built,  it  at  least  furnished 
a  set  of  ideals  of  the  relation  of  the  school  to  the  com- 
munity, which  were  carried  over  into  the  city  and 
have  persisted  in  men's  minds  to  this  day,  even  though 
they  may  have  ceased  to  exist  in  real  life. 

The  rural  situation  is  also  a  good  place  to  begin 
our  study,  because  the  social  needs  there  existing  are 
simple  and  uncomplicated  by  puzzling  variations  and 
counter-currents.    Many  of  the  obstacles  to  the  reali- 

21 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

zation  of  the  social  ideal,  which  are  present  in  the 
great  modern  city,  with  its  mixture  of  races,  its  di- 
versity of  interests,  its  problems  of  social  adjustment, 
and  its  conflicting  ideals,  are  not  to  be  found  in  the 
country;  or,  if  found  there,  are  less  marked.  The 
country  problem  is  simple,  in  that  the  factors  which 
enter  into  it  may  be  more  easily  unraveled  and  the 
means  of  solution  are  much  more  readily  available 
than  in  the  city. 

But  the  country  problem  is  also  sufficiently  diffi- 
cult. Elementary  and  unentangled  though  the  forces 
operating  may  be,  there  is  an  inertia  about  the  country 
that  renders  our  rural  school  problem  quite  as  grave 
and  as  difficult,  though  in  another  way,  as  the  city 
school  problem. 

Let  us  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  not  the  whole  of  the 
rural  problem  that  we  are  here  to  consider,  although 
that  will  be  indirectly  involved.  We  are  rather  con- 
cerned to  see  what  is  being  done  and  what  must  be 
done  still  further  that  the  rural  school  may  actually 
realize  the  social  ideal  in  country  boys  and  girls.  In 
dealing  with  this  question  one  should  clearly  see  what 
the  elements  are,  the  things  which  constitute  social 
efficiency  in  the  country. 

The  Social  Ideal  in  the  Country In  briefest  terms 

the  rural  school,  if  it  is  to  be  governed  by  social 
ideals,  must  be  an  exponent  of  the  needs  of  rural  life. 
In  times  past  and  even  to-day,  in  too  many  localities, 
the  main  inducement  held  out  to  boys  in  the  country 
to  secure  an  education  is  that  they  may  go  to  college 
or  prepare  for  some  profession.  These  are  not  un- 
worthy ends  to  strive  for,  but  it  is  unfortunate  that 
they  should  be  conceived  as  the  main  ends  of  an  edu- 

22 


RURAL   SCHOOL   AND    COMMUNITY 

cation.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  only  a  small  proportion 
of  boys  and  girls,  either  in  city  or  country,  do  go 
to  college,  and,  if  the  training  they  receive  in  school 
is  planned  with  reference  to  the  college  as  a  goal,  it 
means  that  much  of  their  time  and  effort  is  being 
wasted  through  being  expended  in  lines  not  directly 
related  to  their  real  life-needs.  Those  country  chil- 
dren who  wish  to  prepare  for  college  must  have  the 
opportunity  to  do  so,  but  the  resources  of  the  country 
high  school  should  not  be  devoted  entirely,  or  even 
largely,  to  the  interests  of  this  small  class. 

Adaptation  to  Country  Needs. — As  one  writer  on 
rural  education  says :  *  "One  of  the  great  aims  of  sec- 
ondary education  in  any  locality  should  be  to  provide 
a  program  of  studies  which  shall  take  into  considera- 
tion the  natural  aptitudes,  inclinations,  needs,  and  des- 
tiny of  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  section.  In  addition, 
a  type  of  education  must  be  established  which  shall 
react  upon  the  community  and  the  region  in  which  the 
school  is  located  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  a  source  of 
strength  and  a  means  of  upbuilding  the  whole  district 
tributary  to  it.  If  education  is  to  be  universal,  not 
only  must  the  needs  of  the  boys  and  girls  be  taken 
into  consideration  and  provided  for,  but  the  industries 
of  the  community  in  which  the  school  is  located  must 
be  represented  in  its  program  of  studies." 

The  school  must,  furthermore,  be  in  hearty  sympa- 
thy with  these  needs,  and  must  see  in  them  opportuni- 
ties as  great  and  as  worthy  as  any  which  may  inspire 
human   effort   and   enthusiasm.      Moreover,   it   must 

*  Supt.  H.  A.  Brown,  "The  Readjustment  of  a  Rural  High 
School  to  the  Needs  of  the  Community."  U.  S.  Bureau  of 
Education  Bulletin  No.  20,  p.  10.     19 12. 

23 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

seek  to  promote  a  type  of  rural  life  which  furnishes 
scope  for  the  best  phases  of  man's  social  nature.  It 
must  cultivate  in  boys  and  girls  the  capacity  to  be 
efficient  units  in  the  larger  social  morality  that  is  de- 
manded by  modern  life. 

Contrast  of  Pioneer  Times. — The  old-time  rural 
school,  the  school  of  the  pioneers,  was  in  many  re- 
spects closer  to  the  community  and  its  social  needs. 
Its  curriculum  was  narrow,  but  it  was  possibly  broad 
enough  for  its  time.  The  frontier  community  needed 
intensive  and  diversified  formal  instruction  less  than 
it  needed  a  center  for  its  social  and  intellectual  life 
and  interests.  The  meager  curriculum  of  the  three 
"R's"  and  the  poor  methods  of  instruction,  as  com- 
pared with  our  modern  conceptions,  did  not  matter 
so  much.  The  children  were  surrounded  by  a  com- 
munity and  family  of  a  sound  social  nature.  It  was, 
to  all  intents,  the  community  of  primitive  man,  in 
which,  under  the  very  eyes  of  the  children,  occurred 
daily  all  the  types  of  industry  and  sociability  needful 
in  a  simple  community. 

Each  family  was  almost  self-sustaining.  Its  di- 
versified activities  of  clearing  the  ground,  preparing 
the  soil,  planting  and  harvesting  the  crops,  the  prepa- 
ration of  food  and  of  clothing  were  all  carried  on  in 
ways  that  could  be  easily  understood  and  in  ways  that 
not  merely  gave  the  children  opportunity  but  even 
required  that  they  should  participate  in  them  to  the 
extent  of  their  strength  and  ability.  All  of  this  con- 
stituted the  finest  type  of  industrial  training;  in  the 
first  place,  because  it  was  diversified  and  appealed  to 
a  great  variety  of  interests,  and,  in  the  second  place, 
because  everything  done  had   its  clear  and   definite 

24 


RURAL   SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY 

practical  value  and  social  worth.  There  was  small 
opportunity  for  any  notion  of  unreality,  or  for  any 
feeling  of  remoteness  from  life  to  enter  in.  It  was, 
in  fact,  an  education  through  life  in  the  very  fullest 
sense.  With  such  opportunities  for  direct,  first-hand 
contact  with  and  participation  in  the  satisfaction  of 
elementary  human  needs;  with  such  opportunities  for 
free,  open-air  activity  and  for  grappling  with  difficult 
though  not  insurmountable  problems,  the  pioneer  com- 
munity could  well  put  up  with  a  narrow  range  of 
school  studies  and  with  poorly  trained  teachers. 
Those  were  times  when  strong,  self-reliant  men  and 
women  were  produced  with  perhaps  only  three  months 
of  school  attendance  in  their  whole  lives. 

Pioneer  Social  Life. — But  the  excellence  of  the  pio- 
neer community  as  a  medium  of  education  consisted 
not  merely  in  its  primitive  economic  life.  Its  social 
life  was  fully  as  important;  and  here  the  old-time 
rural  school  was  more  of  a  vital  force.  The  pioneer 
community  was  a  primitive  one,  also,  in  the  sense 
that  the  instinctive  social  morality  from  the  imme- 
morial past  held  sway  and  was  altogether  adequate 
as  a  means  of  adjusting  such  conflicts  of  interest  as 
arose,  and  of  interpreting  life  and  directing  conduct. 
The  people  lived  and  worked  together  with  much  the 
same  interests  and  with  little  difference  of  social  level. 
Thus,  real  neighborhood  feeling  was  possible. 

Although  each  family  might  be  an  independent 
economic  unit,  there  were  ample  opportunities  for  the 
development  of  mutual  helpfulness.  The  neighbors 
assembled  for  barn-raisings  and  husking  bees,  the 
dominating  spirit  of  which  was  hearty  good-will  and 
brotherly  helpfulness.  If  one  of  the  community  was 
8  25 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

sick  and  could  not  get  his  crop  planted  or  harvested, 
it  was  done  as  a  matter  of  course  for  him  by  his 
neighbors  without  the  shadow  of  a  thought  of  being 
paid.  It  was  the  rule  that  he  who  had  should  lend 
to  him  who  had  not.  In  our  older  communities,  which 
are  still  inhabited  by  the  descendants  of  these  first 
settlers,  much  of  this  fine  neighborhood  spirit  still 
persists.  Although  many  services  are  paid  for  to-day 
that  were  once  rendered  by  community  cooperation, 
the  men  will  often  gather  for  the  old-time  barn  raising 
in  the  same  spirit  as  their  fathers.  Although  much 
of  the  dangerous  work  may  now  be  avoided  through 
the  use  of  machinery,  the  occasion  is  still  a  genuine 
social  function,  an  expression  of  old  hearty  neighbor- 
liness. 

^The  life  of  the  early  rural  community  in  America 
was,  then,  a  soil  in  which  grew  up  and  flourished  all 
the  basic  social  virtues.  Not  that  the  people  were 
perfect,  or  not  subject  to  evil  passions,  but  these  less 
admirable  qualities  were  tempered  by  the  sense  of 
moral  unity,  with  its  attendant  ideals  of  kindness, 
truthfulness,  honesty,  and  lawfulness. 

Its  Educative  Character. — Just  because  these  quali- 
ties of  character  were  manifest  in  the  daily  life  and 
intercourse  of  the  people  they  were  ingrained  into 
the  children  who  thereby  acquired  the  social  character 
needful  in  such  communities.  It  was  a  social  life 
limited  in  scope  and  opportunity,  but  it  was  adequate 
for  the  type  of  life  then  existing.  On  the  educational 
side,  in  the  narrower  sense,  the  school  was  a  real  cen- 
ter of  influence  in  the  neighborhood.  It  was  estab- 
lished by  mutual  consent  and  purpose  and  expressed 
the  social  belief  in  education.     That  the  content  of 

26 


RURAL   SCHOOL   AND   COMMUNITY 

instruction  was  formal  and  narrow  did  not  matter, 
because  it  was  really  only  a  supplementary  agency  in 
the  training  of  the  children.  The  school  was  really 
adjusted  to  meet  the  one  need  that  participation  in 
the  life  of  the  community  could  not  conveniently  sup- 
ply, namely:  the  rudiments  of  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic. 

The  Old-time  School  and  the  Home. — Moreover,  these 
early  schools  maintained  an  intimate  relation  to  the 
homes.  The  teacher  was  usually  a  man,  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  life  of  the  people,  one  who  had, 
himself,  experienced  many  of  their  struggles  and  was 
able  to  do  the  things  they  did.  Crude  though  his 
learning  in  books  might  be,  he  was  often  the  intel- 
lectual head  of  the  neighborhood;  he  often  boarded 
around  among  the  patrons  of  the  school,  and  thus 
kept  in  constant  touch  with  their  social  ideals  and 
aspirations.  His  leadership  of  the  younger  genera- 
tion depended  quite  as  much  upon  the  fact  that  he 
was  the  physical  master  of  the  "big  boys"  as  on  the 
fact  that  he  knew  slightly  more  about  arithmetic 
than  they  did. 

A  Center  of  Social  Life. — The  country  school-house 
itself,  along  with  the  country  church,  was  the  center 
of  many  of  the  social  interests  and  activities  of  the 
neighborhood.  The  young  people,  in  the  absence  of 
other  opportunities  for  recreation,  naturally  gathered 
at  the  school-house  and  amused  themselves  in  simple 
ways.  Those  were  the  days  of  the  spelling  matches 
and  the  debating  clubs  and  literary  societies.  The 
older  members  of  the  community  readily  joined  with 
the  school  children  in  these  neighborhood  functions, 
partly  because  there  was  little  else  going  on  to  attract 

27 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

their  attention,  and  partly  because  the  school  children 
themselves  were  in  many  cases  young  men  and  women, 
so  that  there  was  no  sharp  line  dividing  the  social 
interests  of  the  adults  from  the  pupils  of  the  school. 

So  much  for  the  social  significance  of  the  old-time 
education  and  the  old-time  rural  school.  Even 
though  the  preceding  account  of  its  character  may 
seem  to  be  exaggerated,  it  was  certainly  different  in 
many  ways  from  the  life  of  the  modern  rural  com- 
munity. If  our  account  errs,  it  is  probably  not  so 
much  in  over-emphasizing  the  social  values,  but  rather 
in  neglecting  some  of  the  less  pleasant  features  of  the 
pioneer  community.  These  drawbacks  do  not  detract 
from  the  good  side  of  the  lives  of  these  people.  Hard- 
ships, suffering,  and  sin  do  not  make  the  good  and 
the  happy  side  of  life  any  less  real. 

Real  Social  Training  Provided. — We  have  meant  in 
our  picture  of  the  old  rural  life  to  show  how  the 
social  ideal  of  education  was  fairly  well  provided  for 
through  the  cooperation  of  the  school  and  the  com- 
munity, to  point  out  how  there  was  an  organic  rela- 
tion and  sympathy  between  the  two,  and,  how,  as  a 
result,  the  children  received  a  really  socialized  educa- 
tion. The  changes  that  have  come  over  rural  life 
and  rural  education  are  due  to  many  causes,  some  of 
the  more  important  of  which  may  be  mentioned, 
though  we  can  scarcely  undertake  to  discuss  them 
here. 

Causes  of  Later  Deterioration. — Prominent  among  the 
causes  of  the  deterioration  of  the  country  was  the 
rapid  development  of  the  city.  The  evils  of  city  life 
were  not  evident  at  first  glance  nor  at  long  range.  The 
city  community  seemed  to  have  certain  comforts  that 


RURAL   SCHOOL   AND   COMMUNITY 

the  country  did  not  possess.  It  afforded  more  diversi- 
fied types  of  amusement  and  more  opportunity  for 
the  satisfaction  of  the  social  instincts.  That  these 
opportunities  were  less  healthful  and  normal  was 
not  immediately  apparent. 

A  Typical  Illustration. — The  words  of  Superintend- 
ent Morrison,  of  New  Hampshire,  *  written  with 
special  reference  to  New  England,  describe  quite  ac- 
curately the  course  of  events  in  all  the  older  rural 
communities  the  country  over.     He  says : 

Out  of  the  old  country  schools  went  a  steady  stream 
of  sons  and  daughters  who  were,  other  things  being 
equal,  always  the  strongest  of  the  generation,  for  other- 
wise they  would  not  have  gained  this  education.  Seldom 
did  they  settle  upon  the  old  farm  or  in  the  home  town. 
Their  education  had  fitted  them  for  other  things. 

They  became  lawyers,  or  physicians,  or  clergymen,  or 
schoolmasters,  or  business  men  in  the  cities,  and  the 
girls  went  with  them,  generally  to  be  their  wives. 
Their  children  grew  up  under  city  conditions  and  went 
to  city  schools.  The  unambitious,  the  dull,  the  unfor- 
tunate boys  and  girls  of  the  old  countryside,  who  could 
not  get  to  the  academy,  as  a  class,  remained  behind  and 
became  the  dominant  stock.  And  they  reproduced  their 
kind  for  another  generation,  upon  whom  the  same  sort- 
ing process  was  carried  out.  Then  the  factory  system 
seized  upon  the  strong-limbed  and  restless,  albeit  slow- 
witted,  and  began  to  sort  them  out  and  remove  them. 
Finally  the  Civil  War  came  and  struck  down  the  ideal- 
ists by  the  wholesale,  mostly  boys  or  young  men  who 
had  not  yet  reproduced  themselves  in  a  new  generation. 

*  Biennial   Report   for   1907-8.     Quoted  by   Supt.   H.   A. 
Brown,  op.  cit.,  pp.  25,  26. 

29 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

Now  upon  a  journey  through  rural  New  England  you 
shall  see  fine  old  mansions,  showing  by  their  architecture 
that  they  date  back  well  toward  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  and  ample  old  homesteads  with  their 
capacious  barns,  all  of  them  more  or  less  in  a  state  of 
decay.  Of  many,  nothing  but  the  cellar  hole  and  an,  at 
first  sight,  unaccountable  orchard  is  left.  These  were 
the  homes  of  a  race  which  lived  and  prospered,  which 
cleared  the  land,  and  built  homes,  and  added  barn  to 
bam,  which  accumulated  wealth,  and  gave  virile  expres- 
sion of  itself  in  church,  in  state,  and  in  educational  in- 
stitutions. .  .  .  But  that  race  allowed  its  sons  and 
daughters  to  be  educated  away  from  the  farm  and  the 
country  and  from  the  State.  In  their  place  to-day  we 
too  often  have  a  dwindling  town,  a  neglected  farm,  a 
closed  church,  an  abandoned  schoolhouse. 

Depletion  of  the  Country's  Resources. — During  the 
time  that  the  farmer's  children  were  being  deluded 
by  the  glamour  of  the  city,  the  resources  of  the  farm, 
its  soil,  and  its  timbers  were  becoming  impoverished, 
and  the  material  return  of  labor  was  lessened.  The 
products  of  the  farm  entered  into  larger  and  larger 
markets,  and  the  machinery  of  distribution  that  de- 
veloped operated  to  leave  most  of  the  money  profit  in 
the  city  rather  than  in  the  country.  The  farmers  of 
the  second  and  third  generation  may  have  actually 
received  more  for  their  products  than  did  the  pioneer 
farmers,  but  not  nearly  in  proportion  to  the  new 
needs  that  had  come  into  the  lives  of  them  and  their 
families.  Consequently,  the  hardships  of  pioneer 
times  gave  way  to  a  new  sort  of  hardship  which  was 
now,  unfortunately,  coupled  with  discontent.  In  a 
word,  the  changed  attitude  in  the  country  may  be  said 

30 


RURAL   SCHOOL   AND   COMMUNITY 

to  have  been  due  to  the  more  rapid  development  of 
the  city.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  different  phases  of 
society  must  keep  pace  with  one  another  in  their 
changes  or  maladjustment  will  arise.  Prosperity,  to 
be  genuine  and  abiding,  must  occur  for  all  classes,  if 
it  occurs  at  all.  One  class  cannot  enrich  itself  at 
another's  expense  indefinitely. 

New  Needs  Demand  Satisfaction. — With  the  passing 
of  pioneer  life  many  new  needs  and  desires  have  de- 
veloped— desires  which  will  cause  grave  social  dis- 
orders unless  they  have  some  measure  of  satisfaction. 
The  failure  of  the  country  school  and  the  country 
social  and  economic  life  to  hold  its  own  and  progres- 
sively satisfy  the  enlarging  life  that  was  gradually 
opening  up  before  the  people  did  not  indicate  that 
these  forces  were  not  adequate  in  their  own  time. 
They  simply  did  not  for  one  cause  or  another  develop 
fast  enough  to  meet  the  changed  life  thrust  upon  the 
country.  When  first  the  pull  of  the  city  began  to  be 
felt  upon  the  country,  the  grandchildren  of  the 
pioneers  left  what  seemed  to  them  the  hard,  narrow 
conditions  of  the  country,  and  more  and  more  flocked 
to  the  city  in  quest  of  the  larger  opportunity,  as  they 
imagined,  in  industry,  in  amusement,  and  in  culture, 
instead  of  seeking  to  work  these  things  out  in  their 
own  rural  life. 

This  defection  from  the  country  of  its  most  enter- 
prising young  people  left  gaps  which  have  been  filled 
up  by  a  transient  population  of  renters,  who  have 
seldom  had  the  stability  or  the  incentive  to  build  up  a 
neighborhood  life  that  would  bear  comparison  with 
that  of  the  pioneers.  Under  the  shifting,  unsatisfac- 
tory conditions,  almost  every  phase  of  the  higher  rural 

31 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

life  has  deteriorated.  The  school  is  no  longer  the 
social  center  of  the  community.  Its  still  narrow  cur- 
riculum and  crude  teachers  are  generally  ill-adapted 
to  the  enlarged  needs  of  the  country.  The  child,  edu- 
cated in  the  rural  school,  is  less  efficient  socially  than 
his  grandfather,  partly  because  there  is  no  longer  the 
rich  neighborhood  life  which  formerly  supplemented 
the  narrow  training  of  the  school,  and  partly  because 
the  school  itself  has  not  only  not  tried  to  meet  new 
social  demands,  but  has  even  lost  touch  with  life  as 
it  is.  The  rural  teacher  is  often  from  the  city,  with- 
out the  slightest  appreciation  of  country  life,  and 
with  utterly  no  comprehension  of  its  problems.  It 
looks  as  if  conditions  could  not  have  been  more  cun- 
ningly devised  to  hasten  the  deterioration  of  the 
country.  The  very  agency  that  should  have  acted  as 
a  corrective,  that  should  have  studied  and  met  the 
new  needs,  has  become  one  of  the  influences  for  dis- 
integration. 

An  Educational  Problem. — The  great  problem  of 
rural  betterment,  which  now  confronts  the  whole  na- 
tion, and  upon  the  happy  solution  of  which  the  wel- 
fare of  the  nation  depends,  is  in  part  a  problem  of 
education.  The  need  is  obvious,  a  higher  grade  of 
intelligence  in  the  country  population,  a  development 
of  interests  in  country  problems,  higher  ideals  of 
rural  life,  more  sociability,  more  opportunity  for 
healthy-minded  recreation  in  the  country.  To  all  of 
these  ends  the  school  can  contribute  something,  and 
it  must  do  so  if  it  is  to  realize  the  social  ideal  in  the 
education  which  it  attempts  to  furnish. 

We  have  outlined  a  particular  situation,  a  situation 
which  presents  perfectly  definite  needs.     The  attain- 

33 


RURAL   SCHOOL  AND   COMMUNITY 

ment  of  the  social  ideal  in  education  demands  that 
these  needs  be  met.  The  problem  of  making  socially 
efficient  men  and  women  out  of  present-day  country 
boys  and  girls  is,  specifically,  the.  problem  of  develop- 
ing in  them  this  higher  intelligence  and  interest  in 
their  own  life,  of  securing  greater  efficiency  in  deal- 
ing with  the  peculiar  economic  problems  of  the  coun- 
try, and,  through  it  all,  of  so  training  these  children 
in  social  relationships  and  obligations  that  it  will  make 
of  them,  not  individual  self-seekers,  but  members  of 
a  real  social  community,  capable  not  merely  of  coop- 
erating with  others  for  their  own  individual  good, 
but  also  able  to  appreciate  and  strive  for  the  welfare 
of  the  community. 

Phases  of  the  Problem. — The  social  efficiency  of  ru- 
ral education  is,  in  a  word,  dependent  upon  its  get- 
ting into  close  touch  with  the  actual  needs  of  rural 
life.  These  needs  are  not  only  economic,  but  social 
and  intellectual.  As  we  have  pointed  out,  people  will 
not  live  contentedly  in  the  country  if  they  are  forever 
deprived  of  social  enjoyments  and  opportunities  of 
recreation.  Nor  will  the  best  boys  and  girls  remain 
in  the  country  if  the  life  there  starves  the  intellectual 
nature.  To  quote  again:  "When  the  boy  finishes 
the  high  school  course,  if  he  is  not  one  of  the  few 
who  can  go  to  college,  he  should  find  himself  equipped 
with  an  interest  in  the  problems  of  the  farm,  with 
an  appreciation  of  the  value  of  farm  life,  with  a  con- 
ception of  the  dignity  of  scientific  agriculture  as  a 
profession,  and  with  an  attitude  toward  farm  life 
which  is  entirely  different  from  that  of  those  who 
have  been  for  four  years  educated  away  from  the 
farm  and  the  home  and  who  have  been  taught  that 

33 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

only  with  the  brain  can  a  living  honorably  be  made. 
When  farming  is  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  profession 
by  the  introduction  of  scientific  methods  the  trend  of 
population  toward  the  city  will  in  some  measure 
cease."  * 

Signs  of  an  Awakening. — In  many  parts  of  the  coun- 
try there  are  signs  of  a  vigorous  awakening  on  the 
part  of  those  engaged  in  school  work.  The  efforts 
they  are  putting  forth  to  meet  the  conditions  which 
we  have  sketched  are  most  promising,  although  most 
of  these  endeavors  are  so  new  it  remains  to  be  seen 
how  far  they  will  actually  solve  the  problem.  They 
are  also  necessarily  somewhat  sporadic,  and,  in  the 
main,  distinctly  local ;  but  they  are  nevertheless  worth 
studying  and  evaluating  in  a  preliminary  way.  It  is 
important  that  these  attempts  should  be  viewed  in 
the  light  of  a  general  social  philosophy  of  education. 
While  further  development  and  extension  will  prob- 
ably be  determined  in  large  part  by  the  particular  op- 
portunities presented  by  different  localities,  and  will 
be  in  the  nature  of  directly  practical  movements 
rather  than  the  outgrowth  of  a  clear  and  systematic 
view  of  underlying  principles,  a  grasp  of  the  princi- 
ples is  necessary  as  the  movement  becomes  more  wide- 
spread. Systematic  efforts  toward  making  the  rural 
schools  really  accomplish  the  maximum  of  social  effi- 
ciency will  depend  upon  a  widespread  discussion  and 
study  of  principles  as  well  as  of  specific  expedients. 

Cooperation  of  Forces  Needed. — It  is,  moreover,  gen- 
erally recognized  by  all  who  know  the  problem  of  the 
country  that  the  country  school  working  alone  can- 
not go  far  toward  realizing  a  more  socially  efficient 

*  Supt.  H.  A.  Brown,  op.  cit.,  p.  26. 

34 


RURAL   SCHOOL   AND   COMMUNITY 

education.  All  really  effective  education  is  the  result 
of  a  cooperation  of  the  community  and  the  school. 
We  have  viewed  educational  efforts  of  all  times  as 
types  of  social  activity  developed  to  meet  needs  which 
are  felt  generally  by  the  community.  This  will  be 
found  to  be  as  true  of  the  rural  community  as  of 
any  other.  No  deeply  penetrating  improvement  can 
be  secured  except  as  the  country  people  feel  the  need 
and  lend  their  hearty  cooperation  to  the  school  in  its 
efforts. 

The  country  population,  as  a  whole,  is  only  half- 
awakened,  or  is  awakened  only  in  spots.  In  most 
places  it  is  unresponsive  and  even  apathetic.  It  views 
with  suspicion  the  gospel  of  social  betterment  for  the 
country.  A  part  of  the  educational  problem  is,  then, 
to  touch  and  arouse  the  home.  Before  rural  condi- 
tions, socially  and  educationally,  can  be  improved  in 
any  large  sense,  the  rural  population  as  a  whole  must 
rise  up  and  demand  improvement.  Outside  forces 
may  make  a  little  beginning,  but  the  success  of  the 
movement  as  a  whole  is  in  the  hands  of  the  people 
themselves  who  live  on  the  farms  and  draw  their 
subsistence  from  the  soil. 

The  lines  along  which  the  most  significant  work  is 
now  being  done  may  be  grouped  as  follows : 

(i)   Improvement  of  the  rural  schools  themselves. 

(2)  Definite  attempts  to  develop  an  interest  in 
country  life  and  country  problems. 

The  Beginnings  of  the  New  Movement. — The  begin- 
nings of  the  present-day  impulse  for  a  more  socially 
efficient  education  for  the  country  date  back  at  least 
twenty-five  years.  The  efforts  which  were  first  put 
forth  were  modeled  essentially  upon  the  relation  of 

35 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

the  school  to  the  community  of  two  generations  ago. 
In  fact,  more  or  less  idealized  traditions  of  the  "little 
red  school-house  of  the  olden  time"  have  always  per- 
sisted and  served  to  keep  alive  in  the  hearts  of  a  few 
discerning  leaders  the  impulse  to  realize  again  the 
social  possibilities  of  the  rural  school.  Gradually 
the  country  school-house  ceased  to  be  a  frequent 
neighborhood  meeting-place;  the  patrons  seldom  or 
never  crossed  its  threshold;  often  they  did  not  know 
the  teacher  even  by  sight;  they  completely  lost  touch 
with  the  work  of  the  school;  and,  worse  still,  they 
lost  their  community-interest  in  education  through 
never  meeting  at  the  school-house  to  discuss  it  and 
other  matters  of  neighborhood  interest. 

The  "Hesperia  Movement." — The  recent  revival,  as 
stated  above,  has  been  patterned  after  the  old-time 
relationship.  It  was,  at  the  first,  an  attempt  to  get 
parents  and  teachers  together  to  promote  the  intel- 
lectual and  social  interests  which  they  naturally  had 
in  common.  The  "Hesperia  Movement,"  so-called, 
which  began  in  a  western  county  in  Michigan,  as  far 
back  as  1885,  is  an  illustration  which  may  be  regarded 
as  typical.  Some  of  the  country  and  village  school 
teachers  organized  an  association,  to  which  the  parents 
were  invited,  and  in  the  programs  of  this  association 
the  interests  of  both  classes  were  provided  for.  The 
association  met  at  intervals  in  different  school-houses. 
An  active  appreciation  was  awakened  from  the  start; 
the  meetings  furnished  a  needed  opportunity  to  the 
farmers  for  a  social  gathering-place  during  the  win- 
ters. They  served  to  promote  the  mutual  acquain- 
tance of  parents  and  teachers ;  made  the  former  more 
appreciative  of  the  aims  of  the  latter,  and  the  latter 

36 


RURAL   SCHOOL   AND    COMMUNITY 

more  appreciative  of  the  aims  and  interests  of  the 
former.  Other  associations  were  formed  in  the 
county,  similar  to  this,  and  later  in  some  other  coun- 
ties of  that  state.  With  many  variations,  due  to 
local  conditions,  the  idea  has  spread  to  other  states, 
but  has  perhaps  developed  nowhere  with  such  bene- 
ficial social  results  as  in  the  county  and  state  of  its 
inception. 

Means  of  Betterment  Summarized. — President  Butter- 
field,  who  has  given  one  of  the  best  accounts  of  the 
"Hesperia  Movement,"  summarizes  as  follows  *  the 
means  through  which  the  rural  school  may  be  made 
a  more  efficient  social  agency  in  the  country : 

1.  Bettering  the  course  of  study  by  utilizing  more 
fully  the  materials  afforded  by  the  country  environ- 
ment. There  is  no  need,  for  instance,  that  the  science 
taught  in  these  schools  should  be  abstract  and  remote 
from  the  life  of  the  children.  The  forests,  fields,  and 
streams,  the  animal  life,  wild  and  domestic,  are  re- 
plete with  most  interesting  problems. 

2.  Developing  the  social  activities  of  the  pupils. 
Affording  opportunities  for  them  to  cooperate  in  vari- 
ous ways;  for  instance,  in  special  day  programs,  in 
the  preparation  of  exhibits  for  county  fairs,  improve- 
ment of  school-grounds  and  buildings,  building  up  of 
suitable  libraries  and  collections  of  pictures.  '*It 
needs  no  argument  to  show  the  value  of  this  sort  of 
cooperation  to  the  pupil,  to  the  teacher,  to  the  school, 
to  the  parents,  and  ultimately  to  the  community  as  a 
whole." 

3.  A  more  thoroughgoing  and  sympathetic  coopera- 
tion between  the  school  and  the  home. 

*  In  Chapters  in  Social  Progress,  Chicago,  1907. 

37 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

4.  The  making  of  the  school-house  a  social  meet- 
ing-place, a  place  for  lectures,  entertainm  nts,  social 
functions,  clubs  devoted  to  the  quickening  if  the  in- 
tellectual life,  and  the  broadening  of  the  outlook 
of  country  people  in  common  human  problems, 
as  well  as  in  those  belonging  specifically  to  the 
country. 

5.  Having  teachers  who  will  be  identified  with 
country  life  and  who  will  become  leaders  in  the  com- 
munity in  all  lines  of  social  improvement. 

The  "Hesperia  Movement",  described  above,  is 
good  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  it  is  typical  only  of  the 
beginning  of  an  awakening  which  is  occurring  in 
many  different  forms.  The  recent  developments,  as 
yet  scattering,  it  is  true,  but  none  the  less  definite, 
have  followed  in  very  large  measure  these  general 
lines  sketched  above.  We  shall  try  to  indicate  con- 
cretely in  the  following  chapter  how  schools  here  and 
there  are  seeking  in  these  ways  to  secure  a  higher 
social  efficiency  in  the  country  boys  and  girls.  First, 
however,  we  may  note  briefly  the  movement  toward 
consolidated  schools  as  furnishing  a  general  condi- 
tion favorable  to  a  better  education  for  the 
country. 

Consolidation  of  Rural  Schools. — The  consolidated 
country  school  opens  the  way  for  many  lines  of 
social  service  impossible  to  the  small,  isolated,  one- 
room  school.  Consolidation,  of  course,  presents  the 
undesirable  feature  of  removing  from  the  immediate 
community  the  old-time  center  of  neighborhood  life. 
But,  where  the  number  of  pupils  is  small  and  scat- 
tered, and  where  the  local  school  has  already  lost  its 
hold  on  the  community,  this  drawback  is  more  than 

38 


RURAL   SCHOOL   AND   COMMUNITY 

offset  by  the  new  life  and  interest  engendered  by  the 
larger  sch'/6l.  Besides,  such  a  consolidated  school 
may,  witt  better  roads  and  better  means  of  trans- 
portation, be  quite  as  easily  accessible  to-day  as  was 
the  old-time  neighborhood  school. 

In  some  states  this  movement  toward  consolida- 
tion has  already  gone  far.  In  others  there  is  great 
backwardness  toward  adopting  it.  The  advantages 
of  consolidated  country  schools  do  not  lie  in  their 
being  any  cheaper,  financially,  than  the  separate 
schools  would  have  been.  On  the  contrary,  they 
usually  cost  more,  and  people  generally  should  be- 
come accustomed  to  the  idea  that  they  must  pay  more 
and  more  for  an  education  that  is  to  keep  pace  with 
the  needs  of  the  times.  An  aroused  public  sentiment 
in  the  country  is  usually  willing  to  pay  for  what  is 
manifestly  needed.  The  consolidated  school  makes 
possible  better  teachers  and  better  equipment,  although 
both  of  these  features  might  have  been  supplied  to 
the  original  one-room  schools.  Most  important  of 
all,  as  we  have  said,  it  brings  a  larger  number  of 
children  together,  and  thereby  makes  for  more  in- 
terest and  enthusiasm  in  the  work. 

Should  Be  Real  Country  Schools. — The  consolidated 
school,  however,  may  not,  in  itself,  be  any  closer  to 
the  needs  of  the  country  than  was  the  one- room 
school.  It  may  have  better  teachers  and  a  wider 
range  of  studies,  but,  instead  of  meeting  country 
needs,  it  may  strive  to  become  a  school  of  the  city 
type.  Such  a  tendency  cannot  be  too  greatly  de- 
plored. What  is  needed  is  not  a  city  graded  school 
and  high  school  in  tho  country,  but  a  real  country 
school,  based  directly  upon  the  needs  of  country  com- 

39 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

munities.  From  a  social  point  of  view,  more  and 
more  do  we  realize  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a 
general  education  adapted  to  all  types  and  conditions 
of  people.  It  cannot  be  too  often  reiterated  that 
diversity  is  to  be  the  rule  of  the  future  rather  than 
uniformity,  and  that  this  diversity  is  based  directly 
upon  the  diversity  of  social  needs.  The  realization 
of  the  full  social  value  of  the  consolidated  school  for 
the  country  community  will  thus  depend  upon  its 
being  actually  situated  in  the  country,  and  not  in  a 
village  or  town.  When  country  and  town  unite  in  a 
school  the  town  interests  and  ideals  are  bound  to  be 
dominant,  and  such  a  school  will  lure  the  children 
away  from  the  country  rather  than  educate  them 
for  it. 

An  Illustration. — An  excellent  example  of  a  school 
of  the  best  type  is  afforded  by  the  John  Swaney  Con- 
solidated School  in  Putnam  County,  Illinois.  It  is  a 
high-grade  country  school  for  country  children,  situ- 
ated two  miles  from  any  town  or  village,  on  a  twenty- 
five-acre  plot,  in  part  wooded,  which  was  generously 
donated  by  a  farmer.  The  consolidated  district  sup- 
porting this  school  is  composed  of  fourteen  sections 
of  land.  *'The  school  is  housed  in  a  $12,000  two 
and  one-half  story  brick  building,  containing  four 
recitation  rooms,  two  laboratories,  large  auditorium, 
two  library  and  office  rooms,  a  boys'  manual  training 
room,  a  girls'  playroom,  furnace  room,  and  cloak 
room.  All  are  lighted  with  gasoline  gas,  generated 
by  a  plant  the  reservoir  of  which  is  stored  outside  of 
the  building.  The  building  is  heated  with  steam,  and 
furnished  with  running  water  supplied  by  an  air-pres- 
sure   system.       The    building    and    equipment    cost 

40 


RURAL   SCHOOL   AND    COMMUNITY 

$16,000."  *  It  was  fitted  up,  in  part,  through  gener- 
ous donations  of  people  in  the  vicinity.  The  children 
are  brought  to  the  school  by  two  wagons  owned  by 
the  district.  The  grounds,  naturally  beautiful,  have 
been  still  further  improved  by  wise  plans.  A  teach- 
ers' home  and  a  janitor's  home  are  also  provided  on 
the  school-plot. 

As  Foght  says,  it  is  a  ^'school  right  in  the  heart  of 
the  rural  community,  where  the  child  can  dwell  in 
close  communion  with  nature,  away  from  the  attrac- 
tions and  allurements  of  the  city.  In  this  sylvan  re- 
treat, fitted  with  everything  essential  for  school  work, 
the  boys  and  girls  of  Magnolia  Township  learn  to 
know  nature  and  to  love  it.f 

The  high  school  course  furnished  by  the  John 
Swaney  School  is  definitely  adjusted  to  furnish  train- 
ing in  both  college  preparatory  subjects  and  in  agri- 
culture, manual  training,  and  household  arts.  A  state 
agriculture  experiment  station  is  installed  on  a  six- 
acre  plot  adjoining  the  campus,  where  the  pupils 
have  the  privilege  of  observing  the  methods  and  of 
profiting  by  the  results. 

A  Square  Deal  for  Country  Children. — Of  a  truth,  as 
Foght  says,  ''the  farm  youth  has  not  had  a  square  deal. 
And  the  fundamental  cause  of  it  all  is  that  our  rural 
population  does  not  spend  enough  money  on  the  edu- 
cation of  their  boys  and  girls,  nor  does  it  spend  this 
money  to  the  best  advantage.     To-day  the   farmer 

*  From  a  report  by  Supt.  J.  O.  Kern,  quoted  by  H.  W. 
Foght,  The  American  Rural  School,  p.  326.  See  also 
Country  Life  and  the  Country  School,  Mabel  Carney,  Chi- 
cago, 191 2,  p.  150. 

t  Foght,  op.  cit.,  pp.  324,  327. 
4  41 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

spends  $13.17  for  the  education  of  his  children  every 
time  the  city  dweller  spends  $33.01 !  Can  further  ar- 
gument be  necessary?  And  much  of  what  is  invested 
in  rural  education  is  spent  to  poor  advantage  in  feeble, 
poorly  instructed  schools,  which  could  just  as  well  be 
abandoned  or  consolidated."  * 

*  Foght,  op.  cit.,  p.  332. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ADAPTING  THE  COUNTRY  SCHOOL  TO 
COUNTRY  NEEDS 

A  Two-fold  Problem. — Let  us  remember  our  double 
purpose  in  studying  the  country  school.  First  of  all, 
we  should  see  in  it  a  situation  which  is  typical  of 
our  whole  educational  enterprise  in  America,  namely, 
a  school  system  very  imperfectly  adjusted  to  the  needs 
of  modern  rural  society,  a  system  betraying  the  in- 
ertia which  is  very  liable  to  develop  in  schools  every- 
where. A  method  of  education  once  worked  out  to 
meet  a  certain  need  is  apt  to  become  fixed  and  unre- 
sponsive to  the  new  social  needs  which  are  bound  in 
time  to  develop  in  a  progressive  community. 

Society  is  always  larger  and  more  vital  than  any  of 
its  institutions.  An  institution  which,  to  start  with, 
is  quite  adequate  soon  becomes  inadequate,  and  vig- 
orous reconstruction  is  needed  to  keep  it  up  with  the 
times.  The  church  has,  in  many  respects,  fallen  be- 
hind present-day  needs.  Its  old  methods,  once  effec- 
tive, no  longer  grip  people  and  shape  their  lives  as 
those  methods  should.  Political  parties  betray  the 
same  tendency  to  inertia,  and  are  in  frequent  need  of 
reorganization. 

We  have  shown  how  the  rural  school  studies  and 
methods  of  to-day  were  the  product  of  the  pioneer 
community.  Crude  though  they  were,  they  met  fairly 
well  the   requirements  of  those  early   days   for  the 

43 


EDUCATION    FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

beginnings  of  an  education.  To-day  they  are  out  of 
touch  with  the  needs  of  country-Hfe.  Our  first  ob- 
ject, then,  in  studying  these  schools,  is  to  observe  this 
tendency  and  see,  if  possible,  how  it  may  be  avoided, 
not  merely  in  the  country,  but  in  the  village  and  city 
as  well. 

Our  other  purpose  in  this  study  should  be  to  see 
how  rural  education  in  its  various  details  can  be  made 
to  minister  to  real  social  efficiency.  The  first  prob- 
lem is  a  general  one;  the  second  is  specific.  In  the 
preceding  chapter  we  sketched  the  situation  in  the 
gross.  In  the  present  chapter  our  aim  is  to  see  what 
particular  things  are  being  done  and  may  still  further 
be  done  to  meet  the  general  need  already  outlined. 
We  shall  here  take  up,  one  by  one,  certain  of  the 
means  suggested  on  page  378,  by  which  the  rural 
schools  may  be  vitalized  and  made  effective  instru- 
ments in  training  country  boys  and  girls  to  be  so- 
cially efficient  men  and  women. 

I.   A  COURSE  OF  STUDY  ADAPTED  TO  COUNTRY  NEEDS 

The  first  means  suggested  was  that  of  a  better 
course  of  study.  Just  what  is  the  problem,  and  how 
is  it  being  worked  out?  It  goes  without  saying  that 
country  children  must  be  taught  the  fundamental 
common  branches.  They  must  learn  to  read,  write, 
and  use  numbers.  They  must  be  made  acquainted 
with  geography,  history,  and  the  every-day  use  of 
their  mother-tongue.  Their  powers  of  perception,  of 
memory,  imagination,  judgment,  and  reasoning  must 
be  developed,  and  their  capacity  for  attention  must 
be  trained.  They  must  acquire  good  habits  of  con- 
duct in  association  with  others  and  right  ideals  of 

44 


RURAL  SCHOOL  AND  RURAL  NEEDS 

life  generally.  In  none  of  these  matters  is  the  need 
of  the  country  child  a  whit  different  from  that  of 
children  everywhere.  All  schools  are  concerned  with 
these  various  types  of  training,  although  they  may 
actually  accomplish  much  less  than  that  at  which  they 
aim.  The  country  school  should  be  at  least  as  effi- 
cient in  these  particulars  as  the  school  in  the  city.  It 
should  be  different  from  the  city  school  only  in 
the  means  it  uses  to  attain  these  ends.  It  should 
utilize  to  the  fullest  extent  the  materials  afforded  by 
the  country  environment  in  every  one  of  its  studies. 

Reading  and  Writing. — In  the  matter  of  merely  be- 
ginning to  read  and  write,  there  will,  of  course,  be 
nothing  to  distinguish  the  country  school  from  that 
of  the  city.  As  the  children  acquire  skill  in  these  arts, 
however,  the  materials  on  which  they  work  should 
be  those  of  their  natural  surroundings.  They  should 
have  books  to  read  which  shall  tend  to  awaken  and 
enlarge  their  interest  in  country  life  and  country  prob- 
lems. For  the  lower  classes  there  already  exist  large 
numbers  of  "nature  readers",  which  boys  and  girls 
of  the  country  need  quite  as  much  as  do  those  of  the 
city,  that  their  eyes  may  be  opened  to  what  is  going 
on  about  them  in  forest,  field,  and  stream. 

For  the  upper  classes  there  are  masterpieces  of  lit- 
erature which  present  the  idealistic  side  of  agriculture 
and  interpret  nature  from  the  standpoint  of  country 
life.*  There  is  no  reason  why  a  part  of  the  reading 
of  the  older  children  should  not  be  found  in  books 

*  Quotations  in  this  and  the  following  paragraphs  are 
from  a  suggestive  discussion  of  "The  Country  School  De- 
partment of  the  Illinois  State  Normal  University,"  by 
Mabel  Carney,  in  The  Normal  Quarterly,  Oct.,  1911. 

45 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

and  pamphlets  which  deal  with  the  economic  problems 
of  the  countr}^,  such  as  certain  of  the  bulletins  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture,  or  such  admirable  books 
as  those  of  Professor  L.  H.  Bailey  on  country  life 
and  country  interests. 

Grammar  and  Composition. — "The  essentials  of 
grammar  should  be  taught  informally,  chief  attention 
being  given  to  good  habits  in  the  use  of  English." 
These  good  habits  can  be  acquired  only  by  practice 
in  conversation  and  writing,  and  what  better  subject 
is  there  than  the  interests  of  the  farm  home  and  the 
country  environment?  The  teacher  must,  of  course, 
appreciate  these  interests  in  order  to  raise  them 
above  the  level  of  the  commonplace  and  make 
them  seem  really  worth  while.  The  children  will 
not  be  long  in  catching  the  enthusiasm  of  a  teacher 
of  deep  sympathy  with  and  genuine  zeal  for  country 
life. 

There  is  a  growing  custom  of  having  city  school 
children  correspond  with  children  in  other  parts  of 
the  country  and  exchange  with  them  pictures  and 
small  samples  of  their  natural  products.  This  cus- 
tom yields  good  results,  both  for  geography  and 
nature-study,  and  vitalizes  the  work  in  letter-writing 
and  composition.  This  plan  might  be  adopted  to 
advantage  by  country  children  as  a  means  not  only  of 
increasing  their  knowledge  of  the  farm-products 
and  methods  of  different  states,  but  also  as  a  natural 
means  of  motivating  their  practice  of  written  Eng- 
lish. 

Arithmetic. — The  rural  school  should,  of  course, 
thoroughly  ground  its  children  in  the  essentials  of 
this  subject,  and,  in  doing  so,  it  should  draw  its  prob- 

46 


RURAL  SCHOOL  AND  RURAL  NEEDS 

lems  largely  from  the  farm  and  the  country  home. 
This  will  become  more  and  more  possible  in  the  upper 
grades,  where  the  processes  of  farming  and  household 
economy  are  studied  specifically.  Arithmetic  has  an 
important  place  in  the  management  of  the  farm.  Per- 
centage, mensuration,  and  the  other  usual  topics 
should  be  "presented  through  problems  of  corn-rais- 
ing, stock-feeding,  farm  machinery,  fertilizers,  drain- 
age, and  other  farm  interests",  such  as  the  marketing 
of  its  products,  buying  of  supplies,  and  the  keeping  of 
accounts. 

Geography. — The  aim  of  geography  in  the  rural 
schools  should  be,  not  merely  to  familiarize  the  chil- 
dren with  the  essential  facts  of  the  science,  both 
physical  and  political,  but  to  discuss  the  imme- 
diate problems  of  "weather,  drainage,  transporta- 
tion, roads,  field  erosion,  the  use  of  wind  and 
waterpower,  crop  production,  and  similar  topics". 
It  should  aim  at  an  intelligent  understanding  of 
natural  forces,  their  relation  to  human  life,  and 
the  extent  to  which  their  action  can  be  foreseen  and 
controlled. 

Nature  Study  and  Elementary  Science. — Different 
phases  of  elementary  science  are  finding  a  large  place 
in  the  elementary  course  of  study  of  the  best  schools. 
The  opportunities  in  this  direction  open  to  the  trained 
rural  teacher  are  particularly  fine.  The  children  are 
in  constant  association  with  many  different  natural 
fonns  and  forces.  Their  welfare  as  citizens  of  the 
country  is  intimately  bound  up  with  their  knowing 
about  certain  plants,  insects,  birds,  and  larger  ani- 
mals, native  and  domestic.  "Trees,  pond  life,  com- 
mon flowers,  weeds,  and  grasses,  plant  propagation, 

47 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

corn  and  corn-breeding,  soil,  with  simple  experiments, 
fertilizers,  crop  rotation — all  furnish  an  abundance  of 
interesting  material  for  training  their  powers  of  ob- 
servation." The  practical  economic  problems  that 
may  be  suggested  in  connection  with  them  are 
without  any  limit.  Surely  no  country  lad  or  lass 
should  lack  for  opportunity  to  learn  to  think  and 
grapple  with  real  problems.  And  yet,  unless  they 
are  taught  to  observe  and  think  about  this  world 
of  nature,  they  will  be  largely  unappreciative 
of  it. 

The  nature  study  of  the  lower  grades  in  the  country 
school  should  center  about  the  habits  and  economic 
value  of  birds  and  other  varieties  of  wild  life;  it 
should  include  a  study  of  insects,  good  and  bad,  and 
their  relation  to  crops  and  to  health.  The  common 
weeds  should  be  observed  and  their  methods  of 
propagation  and  extermination  should  be  considered. 
Vegetables,  grains,  grasses,  fruits,  and  trees  all  pre- 
sent hosts  of  simple  and  yet  fascinating  problems, 
whether  approached  from  the  point  of  view  of  ele- 
mentary botany,  or  from  the  point  of  view  of  farm 
economy.  The  small  wild  animals  and  the  domestic 
animals  and  fowls  of  the  farm  afford  the  best  of 
material  for  a  first  course  in  zoology,  as  well  as  being 
of  great  practical  importance  to  every  farm  boy  and 
girl. 

Chemistry  and  Physics. — Elementary  lessons  in 
chemistry  and  physics  will  not  want  for  material, 
both  for  observation  and  experiment,  in  the  study  of 
soils,  fertilizers,  freezing  and  thawing,  the  care  and 
testing  of  milk,  simpler  problems  in  the  construction 
of  fences,  farm  buildings,  concrete  construction,  pres- 

48 


RURAL  SCHOOL  AND  RURAL  NEEDS 

ervation  of  foods,  baking,  cooking,  etc.  All  of  these 
things  the  country  child  knows  a  little  about,  but 
only  enough  usually  to  make  him  despise  them.  They 
do  not  appeal  to  him  as  things  attractive  and  worth 
thinking  about,  but  only  as  connected  with  hard  and 
often  thankless  work.  To  study  about  them  at 
school  would  throw  them  into  a  new  light  and  give 
to  many  children  a  new  interest  in  them.  In  any 
case,  there  is  not  a  shred  of  reason  why  the  children 
of  the  country  should  not  find  the  main  part  of  their 
intellectual  training  in  just  these  concrete  situations 
and  objects  that  lie  closest  about  them.  The  printed 
material  to  guide  the  teacher  in  such  work  is  now 
abundant  and  easily  accessible,  both  in  books  and  in 
U.  S.  Farmers'  Bulletins.  The  chief  obstacle  to  the 
practical  carrying  out  of  such  a  course  of  study  is 
the  lack  of  teachers  who  know  how  to  start  it,  for, 
once  started,  the  farmers  would  ^oon  be  aroused  to 
its  desirability,  and  would  demand  it  for  their 
children. 

Physiology  and  Hygiene. — To  the  general  subject 
matter  of  these  sciences  should  be  added  frequent  dis- 
cussions "of  the  rural  phases  of  school  and  personal 
hygiene  with  special  attention  centered  on  the  farm 
home  and  the  causes  and  prevention  of  rural  dis- 
eases", the  conditions  needful  for  pure  drinking 
water,  pure  milk,  the  dangers  of  carelessness  in 
these  matters,  and  in  the  disposal  of  waste  ma- 
terials and  offal,  the  propagation  of  disease  by  flies 
and  other  insects. 

History  and  Civics. — In  addition  to  the  fundamental 
facts  of  United  States  history  and  of  local  govern- 
ment,  the   teacher  should    emphasize   and   lead    the 

49 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

pupils  to  think  of  "the  need  for  agricultural  states- 
men and  more  equitable  legislation  for  farming". 
The  development  of  agriculture  in  different  parts  of 
the  country  should  be  taken  up  with  special  reference 
to  the  evolution  of  better  methods,  the  allotment  of 
government  lands,  the  reclaiming  of  arid  areas,  and 
the  conservation  of  natural  resources. 

Manual  Training. — This  type  of  work  is  beginning 
to  find  a  place  in  even  one-room  country  schools,  and 
no  subject  is  more  worthy  of  attention.  In  the  lower 
as  well  as  in  the  upper  grades  there  should  be  practi- 
cal instruction  in  various  sorts  of  simple  construction. 
"All  manual  training  projects  should  be  so  chosen  as 
to  be  of  special  interest  and  value  to  farm  boys. 
Chicken-coops,  [trap-nests],  gates,  milk-stools,  sleds, 
and  various  articles  for  farm  and  home  and  school 
may  be  included  in  the  list  of  projects." 

Careful  Grading  Necessary. — It  goes  without  saying 
that  such  subjects  as  are  above  outlined  should  be 
carefully  graded  to  pupils  of  different  ages.  The  be- 
ginnings can  be  made  in  the  lowest  classes,  and,  as 
the  upper  classes  and  the  high  school  are  reached,  the 
attention  should  be  more  and  more  largely  devoted 
to  these  specifically  rural  materials  and  problems. 
Unless  a  real  country  high  school,  of  the  type  de- 
scribed in  the  last  chapter,  is  provided,  the  pupils 
will  not,  of  course,  get  very  far  in  any  of  these 
studies. 

Already  many  satisfactory  courses  in  agriculture  and 
home  economics  have  been  put  in  successful  opera- 
tion in  different  rural  high  schools  scattered  over  the 
country.  We  venture  to  reproduce  here  a  set  of  such 
courses  now  offered  in  Colebrook  Academy,  situated 

50 


RURAL  SCHOOL  AND  RURAL  NEEDS 

in  the  small  country  town  of  Colebrook,  in  northern 
New  Hampshire. 

DETAILED  OUTLINE  OF   COURSES   IN   AGRICULTURE* 

Agronomy 

1.  Elements  of  plant  life:     Study  of  seed,  root,  stem, 

leaf,  reproduction. 

2.  Soils:     Origin,  kinds,  uses,  soil  water,  plant  food, 

care  and  improvement. 

3.  Seed  selection  and  testing:     Judging,  germinating, 

analyzing. 

4.  Fertilizers  and  manures:    Composition,  value,  rela- 

tion to  soils  and  crops,  lime. 

5.  Insects:     Kinds,  harm,  benefit,  life  habits. 

6.  Farm  crops:     Kinds,  cultivation,  uses,  care. 

7.  General  handling  of  field  crops. 

8.  Experimental  work  in  greenhouse. 

9.  Practical  work  in  school  garden. 

The  class  plant  a  school  garden  in  the  spring  in  which 
all  crops  are  raised  which  grow  in  this  climate.  This 
will  develop  into  a  farm  for  demonstration  and  practi- 
cal work. 

Farm    Carpentry 

1.  Construction  and  proper  use  of  carpenter's  tools. 

2.  Reading  and  drawing  blue  prints. 

3.  Plan   for  each  article  finished  before  construction 

begins. 

4.  Study  of  building  plans  and  construction,  with  prac- 

tice in  estimating  and  figuring  the  cost. 

♦  From  "The  Readjustment  of  a  Rural  High  School  to 
the  Needs  of  the  Community,"  by  H.  A.  Brown.  United 
States  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin,  1912,  No.  20. 

51 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFl^ICIENCY 

5.  Mechanical  drawing. 

6.  Construction  of  wooden  articles  needed  on  farm  and 

for  home  and  school  use. 

7.  Repairs  to  school  building. 

8.  Practical  work  in  construction  and  repairing. 

Farm   Blacksmithing 

1.  Proper  use  and  construction  of  blacksmith's  tools. 

2.  Mechanical  drawing,  continued. 

3.  Study  of  iron  and  steel  manufacture  in  an  elemen- 

tary way. 

4.  Hardening  and  tempering. 

5.  Study  of  typical  farm  implements,  machinery,  and 

so  far  as  possible  construction  and  repair  of  same. 

6.  Constant  practical  work  at  the  bench  and  forge  on 

useful  articles  of  iron  construction. 

It  is  hoped  to  make  these  courses  a  means  of  better 

articulating   of   the   school   with   the   community.     The 

school  plans  to  be  of  assistance  to  the  farmers  in  the 

vicinity  by  making  simple  repairs  to  tools  and  machinery. 

Animal  Husbandry  and  Dairying 

1.  Types  and  breeds  of  farm  animals:    Horses,  cattle, 

sheep,  swine,  poultry. 

2.  Principles  and  practice  of  breeding:     Origin,  im- 

provement, care  of  farm  animals  and  plants. 

3.  Feeds  and  feeding:     Why,  what,  how  to  feed: 

4.  Structure  and  functions  of  the  animal  body:     Sys- 

tems of  the  body,  and  care. 

5.  Animal  diseases,  disinfection  and  general  sanitation ; 

prevention  and  cure. 

6.  Observing  and  scoring  herds  in  vicinity. 

7.  Milk:     Kinds,  care,  uses,  composition. 

52 


RURAL  SCHOOL  AND  RURAL  NEEDS 

8.  The  Babcock  test:     Theory  and  practice,  use. 

9.  Essentials   in  good   milk  production:     Cleanliness, 

care. 

10.  Market  milk  and  cream:     Kinds,  uses,  preparation, 

care. 

11.  Buttermaking. 

Horticulture 

1.  Review  of  general  principles  of  plant  life,  soils,  fer- 

tilizers, and  cultivation. 

2.  Greenhouses,  hotbeds,  and  cold  frames:    Principles, 

construction,  and  use. 

3.  Care  of  plants  under  glass,  forcing  and  hardening. 

4.  More  special  study  of  (a)  vegetable  growing;  (b) 

fruit  growing;  (c)  flower  growing. 
The  excellent  greenhouse  makes  it  possible  to  teach 
this  course  almost  by  the  practical  method. 

Road   Building 

1.  Essentials  of  a  good  road:    Grades,  solidity,  water- 

shedding  characteristics. 

2.  Road  material  and  principles  of  construction. 

3.  Dirt,  gravel,  macadam,  and  telford  roads. 

4.  Bridges,  grades,  cuts,  and  fills. 

5.  Projecting,  laying  out,  and  figuring  cost  of  roads 

in  the  vicinity. 

6.  Field  work  in  observation  of  construction  work  in 

State  highways  in  the  vicinity. 

Forestry 

I.  Study  of  New  Hampshire  forest  types:  Life  his- 
tory, associates,  enemies  of  characteristic  tree  in 
each  type. 

53 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

2.  Forest  seeding  and  planting. 

3.  Management  of  the  form  forest;  the  wood  supply. 

4.  Management  of  Government  forests. 

5.  Conservative  lumbering. 

6.  Relation  to  stream  flow  and  general  rural  conditions. 

7.  Practical  field  observation  and  lectures  by  experi- 

enced foresters  and  lumbermen. 

Rural   Economy  and  Farm   Management 

1.  Farm  accounting  and  bookkeeping:     Value,  meth- 

ods, extent. 

2.  Farm  management:     Values,  systems,  management 

of  farm  and  farm  products. 

3.  Elements  of  rural  law;  legal  relations  of  farmer  to 

surroundings. 

4.  Conditions  determining  farm  values. 

5.  Systems  of  cropping. 

6.  Marketing  and  transportation. 

7.  Management  of  fields  and  cropping. 

8.  Water  supply  and  sewage. 

DETAILED  OUTLINE  OF  COURSES  IN  DOMESTIC  ARTS 

Elementary   Sewing 

1.  All  cutting  and  stitching  involved  in  sewing  simple 

articles  for  dress  and  household,  including  the 
making  of  such  articles  as  jabots,  sewing  bags, 
towels,  aprons,  doilies,  handkerchiefs,  kimonos; 
darning,  mending,  etc. 

2.  Sewing  clothing  cut  by  competent  fitter. 

3.  Elementary  machine  sewing. 

About  one-eighth  of  the  time  is  devoted  to  instruction 
and  calculation.     In  this  course  no  attempt  is  made  to 

54 


RURAL  SCHOOL  AND  RURAL  NEEDS 

follow  a   set  outline.     It  consists   entirely   of   practical 
work  and  the  various  stitches  are  learned  when  needed. 

Dressmaking,   Millinery,    and   Designing 

1.  Designing,  cutting,  and  fitting  of  clothing. 

2.  Purpose  and   requirements   of  clothing;  materials; 

selection  of  materials. 

3.  Instruction  and  practice  in  drafting,  including  the 

making  of  drawers,  shirtwaists,  shirt  patterns,  etc. 

4.  Making  gingham  dress  from  pattern. 

5.  Materials  used  for  hats. 

6.  Combination  of  colors  and  materials. 

7.  Relation  of  face  to  shape  of  hat. 

8.  Plates  and  drawings. 

9.  Designing  of  hat  for  pupil. 

10.    Selecting  material  and  making  a  hat. 

One-half  of  the  time  in  this  course  is  given  to  study- 
ing designs  from  sketches  and  prints  from  the  artistic 
point  of  view. 

Elementary   Cooking 

1.  Management  of  coal,  wood,  and  oil  ranges. 

2.  Care  of  utensils,  sink,  and  other  apparatus. 

3.  Preparation  and  cooking  of  vegetables  and  cereals. 

4.  Use  and  cooking  of  eggs  and  milk. 

5.  Preparation  of  cheap  cuts  of  meat. 

6.  Different  methods  of  preparation  of  fish. 

7.  Batters   and   doughs,   and    preparation   of   muffins, 

popovers,  bread,  and  similar  articles. 

8.  Preparation  of  simple  desserts,  such  as  bread  pud- 

ding, lemon  jelly,  tapioca  cream,  etc. 

9.  Preparation  of  simple  menus. 

10.    Preparation  and  serving  of  simple  dinners,  includ- 
ing instruction  in  table  setting,  serving,  etc. 
55 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

Practically  no  attempt  is  made  in  this  course  to  teach 
the  chemistry  of  foods.  The  course  consists  of  a  maxi- 
mum of  concrete  practice  with  a  minimum  of  theory. 

Advanced  Cooking  and  Dietetics 

1.  Canning  and  preserving  from  a  bacteriological  point 

of  view,  with  practical  work  with  material  from 
the  school  garden;  decays,  molds,  bacteria,  sterili- 
zation, etc. 

2.  Composition,   structure,  methods   of   cooking  vege- 

tables; place  in  diet;  practice  in  cooking  vege- 
tables. 

3.  Cereals:     Methods  of  cooking  as  governed  by  com- 

position and  commercial  preparation;  practice  in 
preparation  of  various  cereals. 

4.  Milk:     Value  as  food;  effect  of  heat  as  to  physical 

changes,,  digestibility,  and  preservation;  practice. 

5.  Eggs:      Composition,    place    in    diet,    preservation; 

practice  in  preparation  in  various  ways. 

6.  Meat   and   fish:      Chemical   composition,    economy, 

place  in  diet;  methods  of  preparation. 

7.  Practice  with  batters  and  doughs,  with  the  study  of 

grains  and  of  leavening  agents. 

8.  Preparation  of  salads;  importance  in  diet. 

9.  Desserts:     Relation  to  preceding  courses  in  menu; 

practice  in  the  preparation  of  both  cold  and  hot 
desserts. 

10.  Food   values;   chemistry   and   biology   of   cooking; 

preparation  of  economical  dietary;  food  combina- 
tions ;  relation  of  occupation  to  food  requirements. 

11.  Practical  work  in  serving. 

Trained  Teachers. — To  carry  out  such  a  course  of 
study  demands  trained  teachers,  but  if  the  work  is 

56 


RURAL  SCHOOL  AND  RURAL  NEEDS 

worth  while  the  teachers  will  be  forthcoming.  The 
question  is,  Shall  or  shall  not  the  country  child  be 
taught  to  know  and  love  the  country?  If  he  is  to 
be  taught,  it  must  be  done  rightly  by  those  who  know 
how.  Let  no  one  raise  the  cry  that  such  an  education 
will  be  productive  of  social  castes,  or  that  the  country 
child  shall  thereby  be  deprived  of  full  opportunity  to 
make  the  most  of  himself  in  the  great  world.  No 
system  of  education  could  be  more  productive  of 
caste  and  of  closed  opportunities  to  native  ability 
than  just  the  type  which  still  largely  persists  in  our 
rural  districts,  the  type  which  tends  either  to  lure 
the  children  to  the  cities  or  to  permit  them  to  sink 
back  to  become  unintelligent,  inefficient  tillers  of  the 
soil. 

Possibilities  for  the  One-room  School. — No  teacher 
or  country  superintendent  need  bewail  his  inability 
to  do  anything  because  he  is  confined  to  small  one- 
room  schools.  Desirable  as  consolidation  and  rural 
high  schools  may  be,  he  need  not  wait  for  their  estab- 
lishment. The  work  of  Miss  Jessie  Field,  Superin- 
tendent of  Page  County,  Iowa,  is  well  known,  and 
furnishes  a  striking  illustration  of  the  development 
possible  even  under  unpromising  conditions.  Her 
work  has  extended  not  merely  to  vitalizing  the  course 
of  study,  but  to  making  her  country  schools  centers 
of  interesting  social  life.  Here  we  may  refer  only 
to  the  first  feature.  Classified  farm  bulletins  have 
been  put  in  the  schools  and  the  pupils  have  learned 
that  they  are  worth  reading ;  as  a  result,  they  turn  to 
them  eagerly  when  their  lessons  are  finished. 

Miss  Field's  Work. — Her  own  words  best  describe 
this  phase  of  her  work: 

5  57 


EDUCATION  FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

Our  teachers  one  spring  had  at  each  school  a  ger- 
mination test  for  seed  corn.  One  little  teacher  reported : 
"My  boys,  who  wouldn't  go  across  the  road  for  a  song- 
book,  went  two  miles  in  a  snowstorm  to  get  some  saw- 
dust for  a  germination  box.  And  when  the  corn  had 
germinated  the  farmers  came  to  the  schoolhouse  to  see 
how  their  corn  had  turned  out,  and  incidentally  saw  the 
work  of  the  school.  Why,  farmers  came  who  couldn't 
remember  when  they  had  been  inside  the  schoolhouse 
before." 

We  have  a  Babcock  milk  tester,  which  we  pass  from 
school  to  school  in  the  districts  specially  interested  in 
dairying.  After  the  school  learns  how  to  use  it,  the 
farmers  ask  to  borrow  it.  One  farmer  who  returned 
the  tester  yesterday  told  me  that  because  of  it  he  had 
sold  eight  cows  that  it  was  not  paying  him  to  keep. 
For  the  Babcock  tester  soon  weeds  out  the  cows  that 
are  not  paying  their  board,  let  alone  bringing  a  profit 
for  the  hard  work  of  the  farmer  who  milks  them. 

In  districts  where  fruit  growing  is  especially  carried 
on  we  hope  to  bring  especially  something  of  the  science 
of  horticulture.  Throughout  our  country  the  great 
money  crop  is  corn.  So  our  schools  are  all  interested 
in  corn.  Some  six  hundred  boys  are  growing  corn 
under  direction  and  showing  it  for  prizes.* 

We  cannot  here  attempt  to  give  a  more  extended 
account  of  the  adaptation  of  the  course  of  study  to 
the  needs  of  the  country  and  of  country  children. 
Enough  has  been  said  to  make  clear  the  lines  along 

*  Jessie  Field,  "The  District  Schools  in  a  County  as  Edu- 
cational and  Social  Centers,"  p.  i8  of  Tenth  Year  Book  of 
the  National  Society  for  the  Study  of  Education,  Pt.  II., 
1911. 

58 


RURAL  SCHOOL  AND  RURAL  NEEDS 

which  work  is  being  done  and  may  be  still  further 
developed.  We  may  turn  now  to  a  brief  review  of 
efforts  along  the  second  line  mentioned  in  the  last 
chapter,  namely,  the  encouragement  of  social  and 
cooperative  activities  among  the  pupils  and  others  of 
the  community. 

2.       SOCIAL    AND    COOPERATIVE    ACTIVITIES 

Boys'  and  Girls'  Farm  Clubs. — Perhaps  the  most 
far-reaching  means  by  which  the  country  schools  may 
make  their  training  more  socially  eflFective  is  through 
appealing  to  the  economic  interests  both  of  the  boys 
and  girls  and  the  parents.  From  these  as  a  center 
almost  all  lines  of  betterment  have  been  found  to 
radiate.  Moreover,  when  the  people  in  the  country 
realize  that  the  school  is  alive  to  their  real  economic 
interests,  their  minds  are  opened  to  the  other  things 
the  school  can  do  for  them.  Let  no  one  raise  the  cry 
that  the  economic  utility  values  are  to  be  lightly  es- 
teemed in  any  scheme  for  a  more  socially  efficient 
education.  Such  an  objection  betrays  a  lack  of  knowl- 
edge of  the  driving  forces  of  human  development. 

Two  obvious  and  comparatively  simple  needs  of  the 
country  are  better  crops  and  better  homes.  They  are 
lines  along  which  schools  have  found  it  easy  to  make 
beginnings  and  which  have  formed  entering  wedges 
into  rural  conservatism  for  the  introduction  of  many 
socializing  influences.  Interest  in  these  two  lines 
has  been  aroused  over  wide  sections  of  the  country 
through  boys'  and  girls'  clubs.  The  corn-growing 
clubs  of  the  boys  are  perhaps  the  most  widespread, 
and  on  these  have  been  patterned  clubs  for  cotton, 
potato,  and  fruit  growing,  and   for  poultry  raising. 

59 


EDUCATION    FOR    SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

For  the  girls  have  been  organized  clubs  for  better 
cooking,  fruit  canning,  sewing,  and  others  of  similar 
nature.  These  clubs  are  naturally  loose  organizations, 
the  method  varying  somewhat  in  different  states,  but 
in  all  of  them  there  is  the  healthful  motive  of  com- 
peting in  some  sort  of  production.  Each  boy  or  girl 
works  out  on  the  home  farm  some  problem  which  is 
of  vital  agricultural  significance;  for  example,  a 
project  of  intensive  corn  or  potato  cultivation  or  of 
bread  baking.  The  knowledge  that  many  other  boys 
and  girls  are  similarly  engaged,  and  that  honors  or 
prizes  are  to  be  awarded  for  the  best  work,  gives  a 
zest  to  the  study  of  these  needful  country  occupations 
which  was  seldom  or  never  aroused  when  these  chil- 
dren simply  helped  their  parents. 

The  selection  of  good  ears  of  corn  for  seed,  the 
testing  of  sample  grains  for  their  vitality,  the  best 
methods  of  planting  and  of  cultivating,  all  these 
things  involve  a  degree  of  observation  and  reflection, 
and  an  exercise  of  keen  judgment  such  as  throw  the 
formal  exercises  of  the  old-fashioned  school  entirely 
into  the  shade.  Unite  with  this  intellectual  alertness 
the  opportunity  for  working  out  one's  ideas,  not 
merely  concretely,  but  under  the  conditions  of  real 
life  and  in  healthful  competition  and  cooperation  with 
others,  and  we  have  set  in  motion  an  educative  process 
of  a  most  effective  type,  an  educative  process  which 
not  only  enlists  in  boys  and  girls  energies  before 
undreamed  of,  but  connects  these  energies  with  per- 
manent life  interests  and  motives,  not  of  the  children 
only,  but  of  the  whole  community.  Such  results  were 
almost  never  accomplished  by  the  old  type  of  school. 
As  one  of  the  leaders  in  this  movement  says:     "Be- 

60 


RURAL  SCHOOL  AND  RURAL  NEEDS 

ginning  with  an  awakened  interest  in  one  thing — ^bet- 
ter seed  corn,  for  example — communities  have  rapidly 
extended  their  interest  to  other  features  of  rural  im- 
provement, with  the  result  that  in  the  regions  affected 
by  the  agricultural  club  movement  there  has  come 
about  a  general  upward  trend  in  the  thoughts  and 
activities  of  the  people."  * 

These  clubs  serve  many  useful  purposes.  First 
of  all,  they  quicken  the  interest  of  boys  and  girls  in 
the  economic  activities  of  the  fami  and  home.  No 
child  can  take  part  in  a  corn-growing  or  baking  con- 
test without  being  made  to  realize  vividly  and  effec- 
tively that  science  is  related  to  everyday  life.  These 
contests  open  up  a  wide  range  of  nature-study  ma- 
terials, and,  best  of  all,  bring  the  knowledge  thus  ac- 
quired into  actual  use.  The  crying  evil  of  practically 
all  elementary  and  high  school  work  of  to-day  is  that 
it  does  not  connect  in  any  real  way  with  the  life  in- 
terests and  activities  of  all  normal  boys  and  girls. 
The  work  does  not  function  in  any  appreciable  de- 
gree, and  is  therefore  soon  lost  out  of  their  lives. 
The  interests  aroused  by  these  economic  activities 
furnish  also  a  basis  for  vital  work  in  arithmetic, 
geography,  history,  and,  in  fact,  every  line  of  instruc- 
tion possible  in  the  rural  school.  Life  in  the  country 
is  seen  to  be  full  of  possibilities  for  the  ingenious 
and  scientifically  minded  boys  and  girls.  The  voca- 
tions connected  with  the  farm  and  the  farm  home 
are  seen  to  be  no  more  mere  deadening  routine  and 
drudgery,  but  to  demand  applied  science  and  manual 
skill  of  the  highest  type. 

*  F.  W.  Howe,  Tenth  Year  Book,  National  Society  for  the 
Study  of  Education,  Pt.  H.,  p.  21. 

61 


EDUCATION  FOR  SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

Social  Value  of  the  Clubs. — But  the  value  of  this 
work  is  not  alone  economic.  Its  socializing  value  is 
fully  as  great.  The  organization  of  country  children 
in  competitive  and  cooperative  clubs  destroys  the  sense 
of  isolation  that  has  in  the  past  accompanied  so  much 
farm  work.  The  children  of  the  community  are 
brought  into  contact  with  each  other;  sociability  and 
feelings  of  mutual  interest  spontaneously  develop.  A 
sense  of  the  value  of  organized  effort  and  of  coopera- 
tion takes  the  place  of  cold  indifference,  if  not  of 
actual  distrust. 

All  sorts  of  opportunities  present  themselves  for 
getting  not  merely  the  boys  and  girls,  but  also  the 
whole  community  together.  The  boys'  and  girls'  an- 
nual camp,  "Annual  County  Parents'  Day",  county, 
or  even  township  and  district,  "Corn  Shows"  and 
industrial  expositions,  culminating  in  district  and  state 
meetings  for  the  exhibition  of  products  and  the 
awarding  of  prizes,  excursions  of  children  and  parents 
to  high-grade  experiment  farms  and  to  agricultural 
colleges,  are  all  natural  outgrowths  of  the  club  idea. 

Development  in  Nebraska. — In  some  states,  typically 
in  Nebraska,  the  movement  is  organized  on  a  state- 
wide scale,  the  state  department  of  education  issuing 
many  bulletins  full  of  practical  suggestions  for  the 
simpler  phases  of  farm  and  home  activity.  These 
bulletins  can  be  distributed  through  the  schools  and 
may  furnish  the  basis  for  much  important  discussion 
in  the  course  of  the  regular  school  work.  Almost  every 
phase  of  rural  interest  is  discussed  in  a  practical 
fashion  in  these  leaflets :  testing,  husking,  and  judging 
corn,  potato  culture,  the  elements  of  domestic  science, 
simple  sewing.     The  bulletins  come  out  at  intervals 

62 


RURAL  SCHOOL  AND  RURAL  NEEDS 

during  the  year  and  contain  information  appropriate 
to  the  season  in  which  they  are  issued.  Club  mem- 
bers make  written  reports  of  their  work  to  the  state 
department  of  public  instruction. 

Interesting  and  valuable  as  this  work  has  proved 
to  the  children  of  rural  schools,  the  communities  and 
the  school  authorities  have  hardly  yet  recognized  its 
full  educational  significance.  There  is  a  disposition 
to  regard  the  club  activities  as  merely  accessory  to  the 
regular  work  of  the  school  and  to  insist  that  the  time 
devoted  to  them  shall  be  out  of  school  hours  and  that 
they  shall  not  interfere  with  the  "regular"  work  of 
the  school.  It  is  altogether  necessary  that  high  stand- 
ards of  school  work  be  maintained,  and  that  the 
teaching  shall  be  of  the  highest  grade  obtainable,  but 
it  would  seem  that  the  incorporation  of  these  country- 
life  interests  into  the  regular  work  of  the  rural  school 
should  be  one  of  the  next  steps  taken,  and  that  it 
would  be  quite  consistent  with  the  highest  standards 
of  school  work. 

Wider  Influences. — We  have  said  that  these  club  in- 
terests are  an  entering  wedge  for  many  things  which 
contribute  to  the  social  efficiency  of  the  rural  school. 
School  grounds,  buildings,  and  equipment  are  im- 
proved when  the  people  of  a  community  find  that  their 
school  is  alive  and  interested  in  them,  for  then  they 
become  interested  in  it.  To  quote  again  from  Miss 
Field :  *Tt  was  in  a  district  school  like  this,  where 
all  the  men  came  and  spent  the  day  terracing  the 
grounds,  and  their  wives  brought  dinner  and  they  ate 
together.  A  more  beautiful  school  ground  and  a  hap- 
pier neighborhood  spirit  resulted.  It  was  for  this 
school   that   the   grouchiest    farmer    in    the    district 

63 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

opened  up  his  heart  and  came  himself  and  brought 
his  son  and  his  hired  man  and  three  teams  to  work 
on  the  yard  because  the  school  had  won  a  place  in 
his  respect  by  doing  such  strong  and  transforming 
work."  * 

School  Libraries. — These  cooperative  and  social  ac- 
tivities are  being  extended  in  many  directions.  In 
some  parts  of  the  country  special  attention  is  given 
to  building  up  useful  school  libraries  and  collections 
of  pictures.  Professor  Graham,  Superintendent  of 
Agricultural  Extension  in  Ohio  State  University,  has 
done  much  to  develop  country  school  libraries.  His 
work  is  typical  of  what  is  being  undertaken  in  some 
other  states.  The  social  meaning  of  the  library  may 
well  be  stated  in  his  own  words : 

The  rural  school  comes  a  little  nearer  than  any  other 
organization  to  being  the  center  of  a  variety  of  com- 
munity interests.  A  greater  percentage  of  the  people 
of  any  community  can  be  reached  from  the  little  country 
schoolhouse  than  can  be  reached  through  the  public 
libraries  or  through  the  schools  of  a  city  when  an  equal 
number  of  people  in  each  place  is  considered.  The  fre- 
quent communication  of  the  rural  home  with  the  rural 
school  through  the  child  who  attends  it  brings  the  little 
library  into  close  contact  with  that  home.  For  this  rea- 
son, if  for  no  other,  it  is  a  little  nearer  to  the  people 
who  support  it  than  is  the  city  library. 

The  country  school  library  leads  to  much  reading  at 
the  fireside.  The  natural  result  is  that  more  small  pri- 
vate libraries  are  built  up  in  the  homes  than  would  be, 
had  there  been  no  opportunity  for  general   reading  in 

*  Tenth  Year  Book,  Pt.  IL,  op.  cit.,  p.  i8. 

64 


RURAL  SCHOOL  AND  RURAL  NEEDS 

the  home.  In  some  communities  it  has  been  found  that 
prior  to  the  establishing  of  the  library  at  school  the  num- 
ber of  books  in  the  homes  could  be  counted  on  the  fingers 
of  one  hand.  Sometimes  the  Bible,  the  last  agricultural 
report,  and  a  Hagerstown  almanac  made  up  the  library 
for  young  and  old.  The  same  home,  or  others  like  it, 
has  coming  to  it  some  low-grade  story  paper  or  so-called 
agricultural  paper  whose  subscription  price  is  something 
like  ten  cents  for  three  or  perhaps  five  years.* 

The  Country  School  Beautiful. — Superintendent  J. 
O.  Kern,  of  Winnebago  County,  Illinois,  has  identified 
himself  with  many  phases  of  rural  school  improve- 
ment. Not  the  least  important  of  his  services  has 
been  that  of  arousing  public  sentiment  for  better  and 
more  attractive  school-houses  and  grounds.  By 
means  of  the  camera,  printing  press,  and  stereopticon, 
he  has  brought  home  to  the  farmers  of  his  county 
the  difference  between  ugly  and  beautiful  school 
plants.  Through  illustrated  articles  in  the  county 
papers,  through  lectures  at  parents'  meetings,  teach- 
ers' institutes,  farmers'  institutes  of  the  county, 
through  traveling  art  exhibits,  and  suitable  books  and 
magazines  in  the  school  libraries,  **the  taste  for  better 
things  is  being  created"  in  the  children  and  in  the 
parents,  and  an  active  public  sentiment  for  the  beau- 
tiful has  been  built  up  in  whole  communities.! 

3.      THE  SCHOOLHOUSE  A  SOOAL  MEETING-PLACE 

The  natural  culmination  of  the  different  lines  of  en- 
deavor mentioned  above  is  found  in  the  country  school 

*  Tenth   Year  Book,  National  Society  for  the  Study  of 
Education,  Pt.  II.,  pp.  35  f. 
+  Tenth  Year  Book,  op.  cit.,  pp.  44  f. 

65 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

as  a  social  center,  whether  it  be  a  one-room  build- 
ing, or  a  modern  consolidated  school.  The  country 
commimity  needs  a  center  for  its  social  life,  a  place 
for  lectures  and  entertainments  and  social  gatherings. 
When  the  building  and  grounds  have  been  rendered 
really  attractive,  as  described  in  the  preceding  section, 
it  is  not  hard  to  induce  the  people  to  gather  and  en- 
joy them.  Social  and  literary  clubs  of  all  sorts  have 
been  started  by  progressive  rural  teachers  among  the 
younger  adults,  parents'  meetings  have  been  organ- 
ized, and  lecture  courses  sustained.  The  best  agri- 
cultural high  schools  conduct  extension  courses  for 
the  farmers  and  their  wives.  Such  a  school  in  Balti- 
more County,  Maryland,  has  conducted,  for  the 
women,  Saturday  afternoon  classes  in  domestic  sci- 
ence, manual  training,  homecrafts,  and  modern  liter- 
ature, and  a  lecture  course  in  the  evening  for  men, 
on  "Soils  and  Fertilizers" ;  it  has  planned  and  carried 
out  a  Corn  Congress;  has  tested  seeds  and  milk  for 
farmers,  and  has  developed  social,  literary,  and  re- 
ligious organizations  among  the  young  people.  For 
all  these  activities  the  schoolhouse  is  the  meeting- 
place,  the  social  and  intellectual  center  of  the  com- 
munity. Other  schools  here  and  there  are  undertak- 
ing similar  and  possibly  more  extended  lines  of  social 
service. 

Teachers  Who  Are  Leaders. — We  have  emphasized 
the  need  of  trained  teachers.  It  is  manifest,  also, 
that  we  must  have  teachers  who  can  be  leaders,  teach- 
ers who  have  come  from  the  country,  who  have  en- 
dured the  hard  toil  of  the  farm,  who  know  and  un- 
derstand the  farmer  folk,  but  who  have  also  had  a 
vision  of  a  larger,  happier,  better  life  for  the  deni- 

66 


RURAL  SCHOOL  AND  RURAL  NEEDS 

zens  of  the  country.  This  is  really  the  greatest  need 
presented  to-day  by  rural  education.  While  great 
natural  leaders  are  few  in  number,  the  country  has 
not  been  lacking  in  fine  examples  of  superior  leader- 
ship, and  more  will  appear  as  the  opportunities  for 
service  become  more  clearly  defined.  The  teacher 
who  loves  the  country,  who  will  study  his  situation, 
who  will  acquaint  himself  with  what  is  being  done  in 
a  constructive  way  by  others,  who  has  the  intelli- 
gence to  plan  his  work  to  meet  genuine  needs  in  com- 
mon-sense ways,  who  is  able  to  survive  initial  set- 
backs and  discouragements,  and  "keep  at  it"  with  the 
patience  born  of  conviction  that  he  is  right,  will  find 
his  powers  of  leadership  growing  far  beyond  what 
he  may  have  dreamed  himself  to  be  capable  of  at  the 
outset. 

4.      ORGANIZED   RECREATION    FOR   COUNTRY   BOYS   AND 

GIRLS 

The  Conntry's  Need  for  Play. — ^We  may  refer  only 
briefly  to  the  need  for  and  social  value  of  organized 
recreation  in  the  country.  The  social  significance  of 
play  and  its  place  in  education  we  shall  reserve  for  a 
separate  chapter.  The  old  life  on  the  farm  had  too 
much  work  and  too  little  play.  The  varieties  of 
amusement  that  have  developed  among  the  shifting 
population  of  the  third  and  fourth  generation  are 
not  always  of  an  elevating  type.  Then,  again,  as 
means  of  transportation  have  become  better  the  young 
people  of  the  country  have  been  lured  more  and 
more  by  the  cheap  and  tawdry  amusements  of  the 
town  and  city. 

A  definite  movement  has  been  started  for  the  or- 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

ganization  and  development  of  play  in  the  country. 
This  has  naturally  and  properly  been  fostered  and 
actively  directed  by  the  wide-awake  educational 
agencies  in  the  country.  The  social  value  of  com- 
petitive field-meets  and  play  festivals  of  various  types 
for  country  boys  and  girls,  as  well  as  for  their 
parents,  cannot  be  too  highly  regarded.  The  success 
which  has  thus  far  attended  such  efforts  when  wisely 
directed  is  sufficient  proof  of  the  need  and  eagerness 
of  the  country  for  healthful  sports  and  wholesome 
recreation. 

Professor  Scudder's  Work. — Professor  Myron  T. 
Scudder,  formerly  of  the  New  Paltz  Normal  School, 
New  York,  has  been  prominently  identified  with  the 
problem  of  recreation  for  the  country.  Comment- 
ing on  the  need,  he  says : 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  play  in  the  country 
is  not  so  much  to  promote  health  as  to  develop  the  higher 
social  instincts,  to  introduce  another  powerful  centripetal 
factor  into  country  life  which  will  tend  to  counteract  the 
expulsive  features  which  have  been  so  actively  depopu- 
lating our  rural  districts.  The  country  child  does  not 
play  enough.  His  repertoire  of  games  is  surprisingly 
small  and  inadequate.  If  he  would  play  more  he  would 
love  the  country  better,  see  more  beauty  in  it,  feel  the 
isolation  less. 

And  he  would  play  more  if  conditions  were  favorable, 
for,  unfortunately,  they  are  not  favorable  to  play.  He 
does  not  know  how  to  play  or  what  to  play;  his  parents 
are  usually  out  of  sympathy  with  play ;  and  in  the  coun- 
try schools  not  only  are  his  teachers  as  ignorant  as  he 
himself  in  regard  to  these  matters,  but  even  if  the  child 
and  the  teacher  did  know,  the  school  trustee  would  in 

68 


I 


RURAL  SCHOOL  AND  RURAL  NEEDS 

many  cases  interpose  objections  and  forbid  any  effort 
in  the  direction  of  organized  play  or  athletics.  Left  to 
themselves,  only  a  comparatively  few  country  districts 
will  attempt  to  do  anything.  Initiative  will  have  to  come 
from  the  outside,  but  experience  shows  that  with  tact- 
ful persistence  and  with  organized  action  considerable 
may  be  accomplished  even  in  a  short  time. 

A  very  important  result  of  play  in  the  country  is  the 
development  of  community  spirit,  which  is  so  seriously 
lacking  in  rural  districts.  There  seems  to  be  so  little 
to  hold  people  together.  Social  forces  are  centrifugal 
rather  than  centripetal.  But  once  interest  children  in 
play,  get  them  to  organize  teams,  design  and  make  a 
school  banner,  compose  and  learn  a  school  cheer,  adopt 
a  distinctive  athletic  costume  or  even  a  celluloid  button 
which  is  to  be  worn  when  they  go  to  the  next  great  play 
festival  and  compete  with  other  schools,  and  there  will 
be  no  lack  of  community  spirit  so  far  as  the  children 
are  concerned,  and  the  adult  population  will  soon  be 
catching  something  of  it,  too.     .     .     . 

Perhaps  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  through  prop- 
erly supervised  play  and  through  a  series  of  properly 
conceived  and  well-conducted  festivals  the  civic  and  in- 
stitutional life  of  an  entire  county  or  district,  and  the 
lives  of  many  individuals  of  all  ages,  may  be  permanently 
quickened  and  inspired,  the  play  movement  thus  mak- 
ing surely  for  greater  contentment,  cleaner  morals,  and 
more  intense  patriotism  and  righteousness  on  the  farm 
lands  and   in  the  village  populations  of  our  country.* 

With  this  topic  we  must  bring  this  chapter  to  a 
lose.  Much  more  remains  to  be  said.  The  experi- 
lents  which  have  been  mentioned  are  only  a   few 

♦  Tenth  Year  Book,  op.  cU.,  pp.  53  f. 

69 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

of  the  many  that  might  have  been  given.  Not  all 
the  phases  of  the  problem  have  even  been  suggested. 
The  interested  student  of  the  social  relations  of  edu- 
cation will  find  an  abundant  and  growing  literature 
easily  available  for  pursuing  the  study  further. 

Practical  Zeal  Needed. — While  much  practical  work 
has  already  been  done  along  good  lines,  let  us  remem- 
ber it  is,  at  its  very  best,  only  a  beginning.  Vast  re- 
gions remain  untouched,  unvitalized.  The  redemp- 
tion on  a  large  scale  of  the  country  school  for  the 
sake  of  the  boys  and  girls  and  the  community  itself 
is  one  of  the  great  educational  problems  of  the  pres- 
ent time.  May  the  interest  of  the  reader  not  be  that 
of  the  merely  curious,  but  that  of  the  one  who  is 
fired  by  a  seal  really  to  do  something,  even  though  it 
be  little,  to  meet  the  present  social  crisis  in  the 
country. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    CHARACTER-FORMING    POSSIBILITIES    OF 
HOME   LIFE 

Social  Efficiency  Dependent  Upon  Conduct. — All  of  us 
would  agree  that  boys  and  girls  need  training  in 
right  conduct  and  in  wholesome  ideals,  as  a  basis  for 
social  efficiency,  but  just  how  it  can  best  be  accom- 
plished is  not  as  clear  as  might  be  desired,  even  to 
those  who  have  thought  about  it  most.  Along  with 
this  generally  recognized  need,  there  is  a  constantly 
growing  demand  that  the  public  schools  should  under- 
take definitely  the  task  of  moral  as  well  as  of  intel- 
lectual education. 

Home  and  School  Share  Responsibility. — There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  a  great  opportunity,  as  well  as  a 
great  responsibility,  does  rest  upon  the  schools  for  this 
sort  of  service  to  society ;  although  as  yet  no  generally 
accepted  program  of  how  to  do  it  has  been  worked 
out.  The  teachers  themselves  in  most  cases  do  not 
know  how  to  take  hold  and  make  such  training  vital. 
The  moral  education  thus  far  provided  by  the  schools 
is  largely  incidental  and  haphazard,  the  sort  that  oc- 
curs on  the  playground  and  in  the  informal  contact 
of  pupils  and  teachers  within  the  school  itself.  This 
does  not  go  as  far  as  it  should,  and  it  is  quite  as 
apt  to  be  bad  as  good,  because  no  one  thinks  very 
much  about  it  or  tries  to  plan  to  make  it  effective. 

71 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

But,  while  the  school  is  awakening  to  its  responsibility 
and  is  groping  about  to  find  some  way  to  meet  it,  the 
home  must  not  forget  its  own  duty  in  the  matter. 
There  is  altogether  too  much  of  a  tendency  to-day 
for  the  home  to  try  to  shift  its  own  responsibilities 
to  outside  institutions.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  is 
absolutely  no  substitute  for  the  home  in  moral  and 
religious  training. 

The  First  Duty  of  Parents. — Family-life  developed  in 
the  human  race  about  the  child,  and,  whatever  other 
duties  rest  on  parents,  their  greatest  duty  and  privi- 
lege is,  and  always  has  been,  the  rearing  of  a  healthy- 
minded,  happy  group  of  children.  Whatever  oppor- 
tunities the  father  and  mother  may  have  in  the  way 
of  service  outside  the  family,  the  good  they  may  thus 
accomplish  for  society  is  little  compared  with  what 
they  may  bring  to  pass  through  the  right  training  of 
their  own  children.  The  greatest  service  to  society 
is  indeed  to  train  properly  the  children  of  each  new 
generation,  and  the  right  and  normal  place  for  this 
training  to  begin  is  in  the  home.  If,  through  eco- 
nomic necessity,  or  through  a  mistaken  sense  of 
"larger  duties,"  or,  worse  still,  through  refined  sel- 
fishness, the  home  neglects  its  children,  no  other  in- 
stitution can  make  good  the  loss  that  they  thereby 
suffer.  Even  if  the  deficiencies  of  the  home  should  be 
corrected,  in  some  degree,  by  other  agencies,  odds 
are  against  it,  and,  moreover,  a  character  started 
wrong  and  later  reformed  is  never  quite  as  fine  as 
one  whose  growth  has  been  wholesome  and  normal 
from  the  start. 

The  importance  of  the  early  years  spent  by  the 
child  in  the  family  has   long  been  appreciated,  but 

72 


I 


CHARACTER  AND   THE  HOME 

even  discerning  parents  have  scarcely  yet  compre- 
hended in  what  subtle  ways  the  social  forces  of 
family-life  cooperate  to  fix  the  fabric  and  texture  of 
the  child's  life  or  how  permanent,  withal,  are  the 
influences  which  operate  in  these  earliest  years. 

Complexity  of  Children's  Growth. — The  growth  of 
children  is,  in  truth,  a  many-sided  affair.  Their 
bodily  development  is  dependent  upon  nourishing 
food,  proper  clothing,  and  an  abundance  of  exercise 
and  fresh  air.  The  social  and  spiritual  atmosphere 
which  surrounds  them  is  also  fully  as  important,  for 
their  minds  and  bodies  are  clearly  dependent  upon  each 
other,  and  a  cheerful,  buoyant,  mental  life  acts  upon 
the  body  and  makes  it  respond  more  readily  to  nour- 
ishment and  exercise.  A  child  may  be  ever  so  well 
fed  and  clothed  and  yet  fail  to  develop  normally  be- 
cause of  defects  in  his  family  environment.  His  soul 
craves  kindness  and  parental  love,  and  without  this 
his  bodily  functions  cannot  go  on  at  their  best.  There 
is,  indeed,  no  sadder  sight  than  that  of  a  little  boy 
or  girl,  well  cared  for  physically,  but  with  every 
lineament  of  the  face  showing  hunger  for  warm  and 
wise  parental  affection.  Denied  this  the  spirit  lacks 
a  something  which  causes  all  the  rest  of  the  bodily  and 
mental  development  to  be  distorted. 

It  is  the  spiritual  side  of  child  growth  with  which 
we  are  here  chiefly  concerned,  and  we  can  consider 
only  a  part  even  of  that,  because  it  is  itself  such  a 
large  phase.  It  consists  in  part  of  the  direct  training 
of  the  child  in  right  habits  and  right  ideals  of  be- 
havior. Then,  back  of  all  explicit  instruction  by 
word  of  mouth,  there  is  the  training  that  comes  merely 
through  participating  in  the  social  life  of  the  family. 
6  73 


EDUCATION   FOR    SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

It  is  this  social  life,  indeed,  that  makes  the  direct  in- 
struction meaningful  and  effective,  and  it  is,  there- 
fore, of  the  first  importance  that  parents  should  un- 
derstand how  to  make  the  home  atmosphere  as  whole- 
some as  possible.  We  shall  attempt  to  sketch  this 
particular  aspect  of  the  home's  opportunity,  and  to 
show  why  it  cannot  be  slighted  without  loss  to  the 
children. 

Power  of  the  Home. — The  peculiar  power  of  the 
home  for  moral  training  rests  upon  its  social  rela- 
tionships. Good  conduct  and  right  ideals  of  life  are 
essentially  social  matters.  It  is  in  the  child's  rela- 
tionship to  other  people  that  he  first  learns  what  it  is 
to  do  right,  and  it  is  in  daily  living  with  others  that 
he  has  the  opportunity  to  practice  morality.  The 
"give  and  take"  of  normal  family  life  is  the  ideal 
medium  for  acquiring  and  fixing  for  all  time  the 
habits  and  ideals  of  a  wholesome  life.  After  all,  the 
intelligent  practice  of  right  conduct  is  the  goal  of  all 
the  home's  efforts  at  child-training. 

The  condition  of  first  importance  furnished  by  the 
normal  home  is  then  that  of  intimate,  confidential, 
human  associations.  The  more  general,  less  intimate 
association  with  people  outside  its  walls  can  never  be 
as  effective  in  character-building.  Children  get  their 
first  conception  of  human  duties  and  of  life's  broader 
responsibilities  through  participating  in  the  life  of 
the  family.  The  family  is  not  merely  the  nursery  of 
the  physical  child,  it  may  even  more  be  the  nursery 
of  all  those  qualities  which  go  to  make  up  a  fine 
human  nature. 

The  Normal  Home. — The  home  which  produces 
such  a  training  must,  of  course,  be  more  than  a  mere 

74 


CliARACTEK   AND    Tllli   HUME 

economic  collection  of  individuals.  We  do  not,  how- 
ever, have  in  mind  the  extraordinary,  unusual  home, 
the  one  of  superior  refinement  and  opportunity  to 
pursue  the  finer  things  of  life,  or  even  the  home  of 
moderate  circumstances,  in  which  the  parents  have 
more  than  the  average  discretion  and  insight  into  the 
principles  of  child-training.  We  mean  rather  the  nor- 
mal home  (we  can  hardly  any  longer  call  it  the  aver- 
age), the  home  formed  by  honest,  hard-working 
parents  whose  lives  are  ruled  by  ideals  and  who  are 
anxious  to  do  their  very  best  for  their  children,  who 
believe  it  is  the  main  purpose  of  their  lives  to  rear  a 
happy  group  of  right-minded  children,  who  indeed 
look  at  this  in  no  sense  as  a  burden  or  as  a  restriction 
upon  their  performing  some  larger,  more  ostentatious 
duties,  but  rather  as  their  very  highest  privilege.    The 

»tiormal  home,  wherever  it  still  exists,  is  a  definite 
center  of  spiritual  life,  participated  in  by  a  little 
community  of  people,  parents  and  children.  It  has, 
naturally,  various  material  interests.  There  are 
usually  insistent  economic  necessities;  there  is  work 
to  do  in  which  all  share  in  different  ways  and  de- 
grees. These,  however,  are  but  expressions  of  its 
deeper  spiritual  purpose;  they  are  the  ways  through 
which  the  common  collective  life  of  parents  and  chil- 
dren realizes  itself. 

I  Modem  Industry  Menaces  Home  Ideals. — There  is 
reason  to  believe  that  we,  in  this  country,  are  losing 
the  old  ideals  of  home-life.  The  integrity  of  the 
family  is  being  threatened,  but  not  primarily  by  the 
divorce-court.  There  are  deeper  lying  menaces  of 
many  kinds,  and  different  homes  are  affected  by 
them  in  different  ways.     There  is,  perhaps,  first  of 


EDUCATION  FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

all  the  stress  of  modern  industrial  life  which  requires 
so  many  parents,  and  even  children,  to  spend 
a  large  portion  of  their  time  completely  outside  of 
the  home  and  away  from  its  influences.  Where 
parents  and  children  cannot  gather  at  least  once  or 
twice  a  day  for  meals,  and  where  they  cannot  spend 
a  part  of  their  evenings  together  the  spiritual  unity 
of  the  home  is  seriously  threatened. 

"Social  Duties." — There  are  the  "social  duties"  of 
the  great  middle  and  "upper"  classes,  and  these  are 
fully  as  insidious  a  menace  to  the  development  of  true 
family-life  as  the  unfavorable  industrial  life.  Then, 
again,  we  should  not  forget  the  increasing  tendency 
of  the  modern  city  to  destroy  not  only  the  quiet  privacy 
of  the  home,  but  also  to  remove  from  it  its  old-time 
independence.  The  present-day  family  is  less  a  cen- 
ter of  busy  life  than  it  used  to  be.  It  has  less  to  do 
with  the  preparation  of  its  food  and  clothing;  it  has 
left  to  it  only  a  few  of  the  thousand  and  one  tasks 
of  inner  maintenance  in  which  it  once  engaged  and 
which  diversified  its  life  and  gave  to  each  child  a  real 
chance  to  be  helpful.  True,  the  family  relieved  of 
these  duties,  often  hard  and  exacting,  has  more  time 
left  for  "other  things,"  but  it  is  doubtful  if  these 
"other  things"  have  furnished  adequate  compensa- 
tions for  the  loss  sustained.  The  interests  which  were 
formerly  centered  around  the  family  hearth  have  been 
scattered;  the  freer,  easier  life  has  broken  down  the 
spiritual  unity  of  former  days. 

Delinquency  and  the  Home* — A  study  was  recently 
made  of  the  home  conditions  of  delinquent  high 
school  boys  and  girls  of  Minneapolis.  It  was  found 
that  only  about  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  families  invest i- 

7^ 


CHARACTER  AND   THE  HOME 

gated  eat  breakfast  together,  even  half  of  the  time. 
Fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  famiHes  are  together  for  less 
tlian  half  the  evening  meals.  Forty-six  per  cent,  of 
these  pupils  confessed  that  they  are  "out"  the  larger 
share  of  their  evenings  every  week.  Fourteen  pupils, 
out  of  three  hundred  and  eighty,  are  never  at  home 
of  ez'cnings.  Twelve  per  cent,  of  the  families  enter- 
tain company  three  or  more  times  per  week.  Twenty 
per  cent,  of  them  apparently  find  the  newspaper  all- 
sufficient  for  regular  mental  diet.  The  investigating 
committee  concluded  that,  even  in  the  families  where 
magazines  are  read,  they  are  not  in  general  of  the 
type  to  furnish  the  children  with  much  food  for 
thought.  As  to  outside  amusements,  it  was  found 
that  these  four  hundred  delinquent  high  school  stu- 
dents attended  more  than  two  thousand,  one  hundred 
and  sixty-six  per  month.  These  amusements  are  not 
necessarily  all  bad,  but  they  are  more  or  less  idle 
and  dissipating,  and,  in  any  case,  they  indicate  that 
the  outer  world  is  making  serious  inroads  upon  the 
interests  and  impulses  which  should  have  centered  in 
the  home. 

The  Home  No  Longer  a  Social  Center. — It  is  not  a 
mere  theory,  then,  when  we  say  that  a  thousand 
attractions  induce  the  parents  and  children  to  leave 
the  family  fireside.  In  many  households  the  home 
is  no  longer  the  place  for  the  keenest  enjoyments,  the 
l)oint  toward  which  each  turns  with  regret,  when  he 
finds  he  must  needs  be  absent.  There  are  other  ways 
to  get  amusement,  sociability,  and  even  intellectual 
satisfaction,  ways  which  seem  fuller  and  richer,  and 
the  family  finds  only  too  late  how  evanescent  and 
hollow   these   opportunities   prove  to   be.      In   many 

77 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

homes  the  old-time  spiritual  values  have  been  lost 
only  gradually.  Easier  economic  conditions  enabled 
parents  and  children  to  taste  more  and  more  fre- 
quently of  outside  allurements  which,  because  they 
were  as  yet  untried,  seemed  to  offer  something  better 
than  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  home-life. 

Spiritual   Unity   of   the   Home In   this   latter   day 

parents  are  complaining  that  their  children  are  no 
longer  duly  respectful  or  obedient;  that  they  are  wild 
and  coarse  of  taste,  and  we  often  hear  it  said  that 
parents  have  erred  in  not  being  as  strict  and  stern 
with  their  children  as  they  used  to  be.  But  the  real 
virtue  in  the  old  home  was  not  in  its  sternness,  hut  in 
its  spiritual  unity.  Our  children  are  suffering  from 
the  lack  of  this  influence^  rather  than  from  a  mere 
weakening  of  discipline,  although  the  weaker  disci- 
pline is  one  of  the  results  of  lack  of  spiritual  unity. 

What,  then,  can  be  done  to  retain,  or  to  restore, 
if  it  has  been  lost,  the  spiritual  unity  of  home  life? 
The  individual  parents  cannot,  of  course,  do  much  to 
change  the  general  social  life  of  their  time.  They  can- 
not, if  they  would,  reinstate  old  industrial  methods. 
These  conditions  are  changing,  it  is  true,  for  better 
or  worse,  through  the  interaction  of  myriads  of  men 
and  women.  Something  infinitesimal  is  accomplished 
for  the  better  by  each  person  who  lives  true  to  his 
ideals.  But,  desirable  as  it  is  to  have  a  large  and 
active  idealism,  and  to  strive  to  introduce  a  more 
healthy  conduct  of  life  in  the  great  world  of  human 
associations,  it  must  not  blind  parents  to  the  possi- 
bility of  bettering  their  more  immediate  relationships. 
They  should  see  that  their  first  duty  is  in  their  own 
homes.     The  larger  duty  to  society  is  often  remote 

78 


CHARACTER  AND   THE  HOME 

and  intangible,  but  the  duty  to  one's  family  is  con- 
crete and  definite.  One  can  always  do  something 
here  and  now  to  make  the  home-life  more  wholesome 
and  more  effective  for  child-training. 

How  Preserve  It? — This,  then,  is  our  problem.  If 
the  values  of  home-life  have  been  lost,  or  are  en- 
dangered by  changed  economic  and  social  conditions, 
let  us  try  to  grasp  the  ideal  more  consciously  and 
bend  determined  efforts  toward  realizing  it,  in  spite 
of  unfavorable  external  circumstances.  Even  though 
it  may  be  difficult  to  do,  we  cannot  believe  that  it  is 
impossible.  If  the  home,  which  we  have  described 
as  normal,  is  of  the  right  type,  then  it  can  and  must 
be  preserved.  If  we  have  drifted  away  from  it,  it  is 
not  necessarily  because  it  is  incapable  of  being  main- 
tained under  modern  conditions,  but  because  we  have 
not  realized  keenly  enough  its  true  excellence.  Ear- 
nest parents,  therefore,  must  be  brought  to  see  clearly 
just  what  they  can  do  to  conserve  the  moral  and  spir- 
itual values  of  the  household  which,  partly  through 
neglect,  are  in  danger  of  being  lost.  Such  a  proposal 
is  of  vastly  more  importance  than  any  or  all  the  re- 
forms in  public  education  which  periodically  agitate 
the  minds  of  the  fathers  and  mothers. 

Its  Relation  to  Economic  Interests. — First  of  all, 
then,  the  parents  must  study  and  plan  to  conserve 
the  moral  unity  of  the  home,  for  this  is  the  mother 
of  all  character- forming  influences.  A  spontaneous, 
collective  life  it  has  to  start  with,  and  this  may  either 
remain  as  it  is,  or  it  may  be  nurtured  and  developed 
to  almost  any  extent.  This  collective  life  was  fos- 
tered and  furthered  in  the  old  days  by  the  economic 
interests  which  centered  about  it.     There  was  always 

79 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

something  to  do  at  home  which  made  it  a  center  of 
attention,  and  usually  also  of  interest.  For  those  liv- 
ing in  the  country  there  is  still  the  work  on  the  farm 
and  in  the  garden,  the  gathering  of  fruits  and  vege- 
tables for  the  winter,  the  care  of  domestic  animals, 
the  curing  of  meat,  making  of  soap,  etc.  If  we  go 
back  a  half,  or  three-quarters  of  a  century,  we  find 
still  more  diversified  activities,  in  the  form  of  spin- 
ning and  weaving  flax  and  wool,  making  of  candles, 
and  even  shoes,  and  a  thousand  other  things  which, 
to  us,  through  the  distance  of  the  years,  look  most  in- 
teresting, but  which  were  to  our  grandparents  often 
hard  and  exhausting,  and  which,  no  doubt,  deprived 
them  of  much  opportunity  to  cultivate  the  "higher 
life". 

Exacting  as  these  employments  were  they  made  the 
home  a  spiritual  as  well  as  an  economic  center  of  life. 
In  these  enterprises  there  were  always  chances  for  the 
children  to  help;  in  fact,  their  help  was  quite  essen- 
tial to  getting  the  work  done.  They  learned  not  only 
how  to  do  real  work,  hut  also  how  to  he  persever- 
ing, how  to  overcome  difficulties,  how  to  he  helpful, 
honest,  Izindly,  and , loyal  to  the  family  circle  and  its 
interests.  In  the  evenings,  after  the  day's  work  was 
over,  it  was  natural  that  the  parents  should  sit  to- 
gether with  their  children  about  the  fireside  and  tell 
stories  or  read  from  a  few  choice  books.  In  many 
an  old-time  home  the  only  books  were  the  Bible,  Para- 
dise Lost,  The  Pilgrim's  Progress,  and  perhaps  Rob- 
inson Crusoe;  and  the  frequent  and  loving  reading 
aloud  of  these  classics  furnished  the  cap-stone  to  the 
wall  of  spiritual  unity  which  surrounded  the  family 
circle.    The  children  had  not  only  their  taste  for  en- 

80 


CHARACTER  AND   THE  HOME 

during  literature  developed,  hut  they  acquired  also, 
in  this  way,  a  fund  of  sound  moral  principles,  which 
were  bound  to  find  expression  in  their  work-a-day 
liz'cs. 

The  lessons  that  come  to  us  to-day  from  these  old 
pioneer  homes  are  many,  and  there  is  no  good  reason 
why  we  cannot  put  them  into  practice.  We  are  able 
no  longer  to  base  the  spiritual  unity  of  our  family- 
life  upon  a  varied  round  of  economic  activities,  and 
yet  every  normal  home  must  study  to  keep  alive  some 
of  these  activities  of  self -maintenance.  The  farm- 
home  still  furnishes  plenty  of  work  for  its  boys  and 
girls,  but  if  the  children  in  the  town  and  city  are  to 
have  home-work,  it  must  usually  be  through  careful 
foresight  and  planning  on  the  part  of  the  parents. 
Some  have  lawns  to  mow,  flower  and  vegetable  gar- 
dens to  care  for,  and  perhaps  a  little  poultry;  there 
is  food  to  cook,  and  washing,  ironing,  and  mending; 
the  rooms  are  to  be  kept  clean  and  neat,  and  there 
are  errands  to  run.  Of  course  there  is  every  ten- 
dency among  all  classes  of  people  to  have  others  hired 
to  do  these  things,  and  there  is  little  left  to  the  chil- 
dren, out  of  school  hours,  but  to  play,  perhaps  to 
loiter  on  the  streets,  or  to  waste  time  and  money  in 
various  cheap  entertainments,  of  which  the  moving- 
picture  show  and  the  questionable  vaudeville  are  all 
too  typical. 

Value  of  Home  Activities. — The  power  of  stated  and 

I  regular  work  about  home  to  restrain  a  child  from 
mischief  and  wrongdoing  i^  little  appreciated  in  the 
average  city  household.  Of  course,  in  the  homes  of 
|the  poor  many  children  are  overworked  and  exhausted 
by  out-of-school  duties,  but  their  condition  is  scarcely 
I 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

more  pitiable  than  that  of  the  children  of  more  well- 
to-do  families,  who  have  no  home  duties.  Mr.  Wil- 
liam George  has  found  that  work  and  responsibility 
for  some  difficult  tasks  are  almost  a  panacea  for  the 
reformation  of  the  wayward  children  of  rich  and 
poor  alike.  His  experience  with  delinquent  children 
from  comfortable  homes  points  conclusively  to  a  fatal 
defect  in  the  training  these  homes  tend  to  provide. 
Such  children  are  often  suffering  from  irresponsi- 
bility. They  have  been  used,  all  their  lives,  to  have 
things  done  for  them  and,  consequently,  they  have 
never  acquired  the  art  of  relying  on  themselves  for 
anything  but  the  doing  of  mischief. 

Dr.  Montessori,  in  her  famous  "Houses  of  Child- 
hood", in  Rome,  recognizes  that  the  first  step  in 
child-training  is  to  teach  her  little  ones  to  do  for 
themselves.  They  learn  how  to  button  on  their  own 
garments,  how  to  lace  their  shoes,  how  to  do  scores 
of  little  acts  of  service  for  themselves  and  their  mates. 
We  may  well  say  that  the  first  step  in  moral  training 
is  to  learn  how  to  depend  on  one's  self,  and  how  to 
be  ready  to  give  kindly  help  to  others  when  they 
need  it.  The  various  phases  of  promptness,  obedi- 
ence, mutual  helpfulness,  truthfulness,  and  self-reli- 
ance can  be  much  more  vitally  impressed  through 
home  duties  than  in  any  other  way.  There,  if  any- 
where, the  child  must  learn  how  necessary  these  vir- 
tues are  to  the  welfare  of  everybody  and  how  hard 
it  is  to  be  happy  without  them. 

The  Lesson  of  Thrift. — In  connection  with  his  ser- 
vice in  the  home  the  child  should  learn  his  first  les- 
sons in  thrift.  The  prevailing  habit  of  our  times  is 
to  spend  rather  than  to  save  and,  unless  there  is  very 

82 


CHARACTER  Ax\D   THE   HOME 

wise  and  persistent  effort  put  forth  to  correct  it,  the 
children  of  the  poor,  as  well  as  of  the  rich,  will  early 
fall  into  a  most  careless  regard  for  money. 

Over- fond  parents  get  a  good  deal  of  selfish  pleas- 
ure out  of  constantly  spending  and  allowing  their 
children  to  spend  money  for  all  sorts  of  trivial  things. 
They  think  a  few  pennies  or  nickels  here  and  there 
make  so  little  difference,  anyway,  and  the  children 
seem  to  like  it.  Like  it  they  do,  but,  even  if  it  is 
only  a  matter  of  pennies,  they  are  learning  to  spend 
rather  than  to  save,  and  the  latter  lesson  is  always 
the  harder  one.  Every  parent  can  a  thousand  times 
better  afford  to  forego  the  selfish  pleasure  of  indulg- 
ing his  children  for  the  sake  of  teaching  them  the 
value  of  thrift.  They  can  be  paid  for  little  services 
and  encouraged  to  save  their  earnings.  A  child's 
own  earnings  should  cover  most  of  his  needs  in  the 
way  of  books  and  toys,  and,  if  he  is  obliged  to  buy 
out  of  his  own  resources,  he  soon  acquires  the  art 
of  the  wise  use  of  money. 

The  Eollo  Books. — The  parent  of  to-day,  who  would 
like  to  get  in  mind  a  concrete  picture  of  the  family- 
life  which  may  train  and  develop  in  its  children  the 
arts  of  individual  and  social  responsibility,  can  not 
do  better  than  read  thoughtfully  the  Rollo  Books, 
a  little  series  of  volumes  for  children,  written  more 
than  sixty  years  ago  by  Jacob  Abbott.  They  used  to 
be  popular  in  children's  libraries,  but  are  in  danger, 
to-day,  of  being  forgotten.  They  trace  the  life  of 
a  little  boy,  Rollo,  through  the  various  vicissitudes  of 
play,  school,  work,  vacation,  etc.  The  social  atmos- 
phere of  his  home,  if  a  little  overdrawn,  is  yet,  on  the 
whole,  admirable,  and  is  full  of  food  for  thought  for 

83 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

parent  as  well  as  child.  Rollo  is  a  boy  full  of  curi- 
osity and  of  eagerness  to  do  things  and  he  is  encour- 
aged in  everything  to  rely  upon  himself.  He  learns 
early  that  his  success  or  failure  in  an  enterprise  de- 
pends upon  his  straightforwardness,  patience,  and 
willingness  to  use  his  own  mind.  The  father  occa- 
sionally discusses  with  him  the  little  difficulties  and 
problems  which  he  faces,  and  helps  him  think  things 
out  for  himself.  In  this  way  he  gradually  acquires 
insight  into  the  principles  of  right-doing.  Obedience, 
veracity,  a  willingness  to  work  are  never  presented  as 
abstract  virtues,  but  always  in  relation  to  some  real 
emergency  that  arises  in  his  daily  life.  He  constantly 
sees  right-doing  as  a  necessary  incident  of  his  home- 
and  school-life. 

No  parent  can  thoughtfully  read  these  books  with- 
out getting  hosts  of  practical  ideas  as  to  how  to  make 
the  social  life  of  the  home  a  real  power  in  the  devel- 
opment of  wholesome-minded,  self-reliant  boys  and 
girls. 

What  Every  Home  Can  Do. — There  are,  indeed,  few 
parents  who  cannot  do  something  to  build  up  and 
preserve  the  character-forming  influences  expressed 
in  the  phrase  "our  home".  Even  if  conditions  are 
such  that  the  children  can  do  very  little  work,  there 
is  much  they  can  participate  in  which  will  hold  them 
together  and  make  them  better  boys  and  girls.  More 
evenings  can  be  spent  together  in  reading  and  in 
friendly  social  intercourse.  The  parents  can  discuss 
the  work  of  the  day,  even  if  it  has  had  to  be  per- 
formed away  from  home.  If  the  children  have  had 
peculiar  difficulties  to  meet  and  their  hearts  are  sore 
they  can  be  encouraged  by  kindly  inquiries  and  inti- 

84 


CHARACTER  AND   THE  HOME 

mate  counsel.  They  must  ever  feel  that  the  home  is 
interested  in  all  their  varied  enterprises,  within  and 
without  the  school.  Better  progress  in  their  studies 
would  often  result,  if  they  knew  that  their  father 
and  mother  had  a  more  loving  concern  that  they  do 
their  best.  Nothing  alienates  a  child  more  quickly 
from  the  home  than  the  sense  that  no  one  cares  very 
much  what  he  does.  On  the  other  hand,  if  he  can 
be  made  to  feel  that  every  phase  of  his  conduct  in 
school  and  on  the  street  docs  make  a  difference,  does 
reflect  upon  the  cheer  of  the  home  circle,  he  has 
gained  one  of  the  most  powerful  of  incentives  for  a 
right  life. 

The  Opportunity  of  Conversation. — One  of  the  most 
valuable  and  yet  most  neglected  opportunities  for 
character-formation  is  wholesome  conversation  at  the 
table  and  in  the  evening  circle.  When  we  reflect 
how  trivial  and  cheap  home-talk  often  is,  we  need 
no  longer  wonder  that  conversation  is  a  lost  art.  And 
yet  the  daily  verbal  intercourse  of  parents  and  chil- 
dren could  yield  great  returns  if  only  a  little  more 
thought  were  given  to  it.  The  trouble  is  that  most 
people  do  not  appreciate  the  power  of  conversation, 
or  make  any  effort  to  develop  it.  To  many  parents 
the  talk  of  children  seems  trivial.  Their  insistent 
and  well-meant  questions  are  answered  in  an  oflf-hand 
way,  or  not  at  all.  The  distraction  and  teasing  qual- 
ity of  much  of  their  talk  is  the  direct  outcome  of 
their  failure  to  find  any  appreciative  response  from 
their  parents.  The  worth  appears  only  as  it  fuses 
with  a  kindly  attitude  in  some  older  person  who  is 
awake  to  the  importance  of  his  opportunity  when  he 
holds  communion  with  the  child-mind. 

85 


EDUCATION   FOR    SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

In  how  many  homes  are  the  precious  moments  to- 
gether with  the  children  frittered  away  upon  silly 
gossip  and  coarse  jests!  How  ready  are  the  elders 
to  pass  back  and  forth  comments  upon  the  unlovely 
side  of  life,  and,  by  their  laughter  over  situations 
which  the  children  cannot  and  should  not  understand, 
awaken  in  them  a  curiosity  which,  just  because  it 
cannot  be  satisfied,  is  almost  sure  to  work  harm  in 
the  children's  inner  life. 

It  is  not  the  child  of  six  who  sits  at  the  table  and 
listens;  it  is  a  human  spirit,  eager,  curious,  wondering, 
surrounded  by  mysteries,  silently  taking  in  what  it  does 
not  understand  to-day,  but  which  will  take  possession 
of  it  next  year  and  become  a  torch  to  light  it  on  its  way. 
It  is  through  association  with  older  people  that  these 
fructifying  ideas  come  to  the  child;  it  is  through  such 
talk  that  he  finds  the  world  he  is  to  possess. 

The  talk  of  the  family  ought  not,  therefore,  to  be 
directed  at  him  or  shaped  for  him ;  but  it  ought  to  make 
a  place  for  him.  If  the  Balkan  situation  comes  up,  let 
the  boy  get  out  the  atlas  and  find  Bosnia  and  Bulgaria ; 
it  is  quite  likely  that  his  elders  may  have  forgotten  the 
exact  location  of  these  countries ;  it  is  even  possible  that 
they  may  never  have  known.     .     .     . 

Talk  on  books,  plays,  pictures,  music,  may  have  the 
same  quality  of  a  common  interest  for  those  who  listen 
as  well  as  for  those  who  talk.  There  are  homes  in 
which  the  informal  discussion  of  these  matters  is  a  lib- 
eral education;  and  long  years  after  children,  who  were 
not  taken  account  of  at  the  time,  remember  phrases  and 
sentences  that  have  been  key  words  in  their  vocabulary 
of  life.     .     .     . 

Children  are  part  of  the   family  and  have  a  right 
86 


CHARACTER   AND    THE   HOME 

to  share  in  the  talk;  do  not  silence  them  by  the  old- 
fashioned  arbitrary  rule  commanding  them  to  be  "seen 
but  not  heard."  If  they  are  in  the  right  atmosphere, 
they  will  not  be  intrusive  or  impertinent;  perhaps  one 
reason  why  some  American  children  are  so  aggressive 
and  lacking  in  respect  is  the  frivolity  of  the  talk  that 
goes  on  in  some  American  families.  Make  place  for 
their  interests,  their  questions,  the  problems  of  their 
experience,  for  there  are  young  as  well  as  old  perplexi- 
ties. Encourage  them  to  talk,  and  meet  them  more  than 
half  way  by  the  utmost  hospitality  to  the  subjects  that 
interest  and  puzzle  them.* 

Its  Lasting  Influence. — In  fine,  this  much  we  may 
say  with  entire  assurance:  In  the  intimate  conversa- 
tion in  the  home  the  real  life  is  laid  bare,  whether  it 
be  noble,  or  coarse  and  low.  The  things  which  really 
interest  the  parents  they  will  usually  talk  about,  and 
what  the  child  sees  the  parent  truly  cares  'for  he  is 
apt  to  care  for  himself.  His  sense  of  life's  values  is 
thus  largely  formed,  and  it  will  be  very  difficult  for 
any  other  power  to  make  him  have  a  high  regard  for 
what  he  hears  slightingly  referred  to  by  his  parents. 

Sex  Instruction. — Much  is  being  said  to-day  about 
instruction  in  matters  pertaining  to  sex,  and  no  home 
can  afford  to  neglect  its  responsibility  in  this  particu- 
lar. Recent  studies  in  psychology  lend  tremendous 
emphasis  to  this  duty.  Curiosity  as  to  all  such  mat- 
ters usually  develops  much  earlier  than  parents  im- 
agine. Children  of  three  and  four  often  have  in- 
quiries that  need  to  be  frankly  faced  and  answered. 
The   specialist    in   mental   diseases    frequently    finds 

*  From  The  Outlook,  Nov.  14,  1908. 
87 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

that  much  of  the  trouble  with  his  patient  grows  out 
of  the  early  suppression  of  normal  childish  impulses. 
The  parent  who  tries  to  suppress  an  impulse  of  any 
sort  in  his  child  may  succeed  in  thrusting  it  out  of 
the  child's  conscious  life,  but  he  does  not  really  kill 
it.  More  than  likely  it  is  still  working  away  in  the 
recesses  of  his  mind,  producing  distorted  and  unhap- 
py consequences  in  his  conduct. 

Many  things  that  the  child  may  want  to  do  are 
neither  suitable  nor  right,  but  the  energy  of  the  im- 
pulse in  most  cases  can  be  used  in  some  desirable 
form  of  activity.  What  is  needed  most  of  all  in  the 
home-life  is  abundant  opportunity  to  redirect  the  child 
rather  than  to  stop  him  point-blank  when  his  curi- 
osity and  eagerness  to  do  show  undesirable  tenden- 
cies. One  of  the  most  effective  ways  offered  by  sci- 
entific psychology  for  disposing  of  early  impulses  and 
curiosity, of  a  sexual  nature  is  through  frank  sympa- 
thetic conversation  between  parent  and  child.  The 
air  of  mystery,  the  sense  that  these  things  must  not 
be  mentioned,  and,  worse  still,  the  false  information 
so  often  given,  produce  deep-seated  and  lasting  harm 
to  almost  every  phase  of  the  child's  inner  and  outer 
life. 

Intelligent  Sympathy  Needed. — After  all,  the  great- 
est thing  needed  by  the  father  and  mother  is  that  they 
be  intelligently  sympathetic  with  their  children.  Their 
other  mistakes  will  be  in  part  offset  if  they  can  really 
enter  into  the  lives  of  their  boys  and  girls  and  learn  to 
appreciate  their  point  of  view  in  all  they  are  striving 
to  do.  The  father,  as  well  as  the  mother,  must  be 
the  comrade  of  the  children.  Openness  and  frankness 
must  characterize  their  intercourse.     They  must  be 


CHARACTER   AND   THE  HOME 

absolutely  truthful  in  all  their  dealings  with  them. 
They  must  cultivate  the  art  of  loving  and  confiden- 
tial talks  Vvith  them. 

The  problem  of  moral  training  in  the  home  is  made 
still  harder  by  differences  in  the  children  themselves. 
Some  are  more  tractable,  and  yield  more  readily  to 
right  influences  than  others.  After  we  have  done  the 
very  best  we  know  how,  we  shall  often  feel  that  we 
have  fallen  far  short  in  our  efforts  with  this  or  that 
child.  And  yet  tlie  fault  will  usually  be  found  to 
lie,  not  in  the  principles  here  discussed,  but  in  our 
own  lack  of  insight  into  the  needs  of  the  troublesome 
youngster  and  in  our  lack  of  deftness  in  applying  these 
principles. 

Practice  Harder  Than  Precept.— In  all  the  preceding 
discussion  we  have  not  been  unmindful  of  the  fact 
that  it  is  easier  to  say  than  to  do.  The  things  which 
we  have  suggested  are  by  no  means  easy  of  accom- 
plishment, and  yet  it  is  in  just  these  things  that  the 
I)arents  must  find  their  greatest  opportunities  for 
child-training.  To  strive  to  accomplish  something 
along  right  lines  is  better  than  to  make  no  effort 
at  all. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  COOPERATION   OF   SCHOOL  AND 
COMMUNITY 

Demand  for  Economy  of  Effort. — In  the  minds  of 
active  men  and  women  everywhere  there  is  a  grow- 
ing sense  of  the  need  of  scientific  management  in  all 
types  of  worthy  social  enterprise.  The  work  of  the 
world  is  increasing  in  scope  and  complexity  and, 
great  as  is  the  fund  of  human  energy,  it  has  its  limits. 
It  must  needs  be  conserved  and  utilized  in  ways  that 
will  contribute  to  its  maximum  efficiency.  In  earlier 
times,  when  the  stress  of  life  was  less  intense,  the 
evil  of  wasted  energy  and  of  wasted  natural  resources 
was  less  apparent.  But  it  is  not  so  to-day.  Waste  of 
every  sort  is  more  and  more  open  to  condemnation. 
It  is,  in  fact,  a  social  menace. 

Economy  in  Industry. — None  of  us  can  see  far  into 
the  future;  none  can  predict  with  assurance  just 
how  modern  civilization,  with  its  increasing  demands 
upon  human  and  upon  natural  resources,  is  going 
to  work  out.  The  pressing  problem  of  to-day  is  how 
to  avoid  waste  of  every  description.  In  the  indus- 
trial world,  for  example,  all  of  the  forces  which  op- 
erate in  a  given  line  of  production  must  be  corre- 
lated with  one  another;  there  must  be  no  "hitches", 
no  useless  movements,  the  least  possible  loss  in  secur- 
ing raw  materials,  in  their  manufacture,  and  in  the 

90 


COOPERATION   WITH   COMMUNITY 

bringing  of  them  to  the  consumer.  When  competi- 
tion was  less  keen,  and  raw  materials  were  abundant 
and  cheap,  leakages  along  the  way  attracted  little  seri- 
ous attention.  As  everybody  knows,  however,  the 
problem  of  the  scientific  management  of  industry  has 
already  been  met  in  part.  At  least  the  first  steps  have 
been  taken  toward  a  general  and  practical  application 
of  the  principle  involved. 

Economy  in  Social  Enterprises. — What  is  true  of  in- 
dustry is  true  in  far  greater  degree  of  all  those  enter- 
prises which  are  directly  planned  for  increasing  man's 
intellectual  and  social  efficiency.  Here  the  possibili- 
ties of  conservation,  through  a  scientific  study  of 
methods  and  aims,  are  hardly  as  yet  generally  real- 
ized. The  problem,  it  is  true,  is  recognized  by  indi- 
viduals and  by  separate  organizations,  but  there  is  yet 
lacking  a  broad  correlation  of  the  various  forces  which 
operate  upon  and  determine  real  human  productivity. 
No  mechanical  adjustment  of  these  forces  can  be 
adequate;  the  human  factor  must  be  taken  as  it  is, 
that  is,  as  human,  and  not  as  a  machine.  A  man  has 
feelings,  prejudices,  motives,  ideals.  These  inevit- 
ably influence  his  behavior.  Therefore  all  efforts  to 
improve  that  behavior  necessarily  involve  dealing 
with  most  complex  and  often  inextricable  influences. 

The  education  of  children,  in  even  its  crudest  form, 
is  one  of  these  complex  processes.  The  organization 
of  educative  agencies  in  modern  society,  so  that  the 
best  results  may  be  attained,  is,  in  fact,  infinitely  com- 
plex. The  higher  the  ideal  the  greater  the  number 
of  influences  which  play  a  vital  part  in  the  process 
and  the  more  do  we  appreciate  the  need  that  they  be 
scientifically  adjusted  and  controlled. 

91 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

Cooperation  the  Basis  of  Economy. — As  we  have 
seen,  the  school  is  the  instrument  of  society  for  car- 
rying on, a  needful  function.  But,  like  all  social  in- 
stitutions or  agencies,  it  is  capable  of  doing  its  allotted 
work  only  as  it  continues  in  close  relation  with  the 
society  which  it  serves.  There  is  no  such  thing  as 
complete  and  absolute  separation  of  functions.  So- 
ciety is  a  unit,  a  whole,  and  all  its  divisions  of  labor 
are  more  or  less  arbitrary  and  for  the  sake  of  practi- 
cal expediency.  Its  parts,  its  forces,  its  interests,  its 
activities  are  interwoven  almost  beyond  our  power  to 
unravel.  That  the  school  has  been  established  as  an 
educative  institution  does  not  mean  that  the  work  of 
education  is  thereby  transferred  bodily  and  completely 
to  the  school.  It  rather  means  that  the  process  of 
education  has  become  so  complex  that  it  has  to  be 
cared  for  in  part  by  this  special  agency,  which  shall, 
however,  act  in  cooperation  with  the  more  general 
educative  influences  of  society. 

The  point,  then,  is  that  the  principles  and  ideals  of 
scientific  management  should  be  applied  to  education 
as  well  as  to  industry.  Not  merely  to  the  aspects  of 
education  which  occur  within  the  school  walls,  those 
which  have  to  do  with  methods  of  teaching  and  wise 
administration  of  the  school's  resources,  but  also  to 
those  w^hich  have  to  do  with  the  school's  relation  to 
the  more  general  educative  influences  of  the  home 
and  society. 

The  School  a  Supplementary  Agency. — Look  at  it  as 
we  will,  we  must  always  admit  that  the  school  can 
perform  but  a  part  of  the  educative  function,  that, 
at  its  very  best,  it  must  be  regarded  as  only  a  supple- 
ment to  the  action  of  the  educative  forces  diffused 

92 


COOPERATION   WITH   COMMUNITY 

through  the  community.  Its  success  will  depend  on 
the  extent  to  which  it  is  able  to  join  with  these  forces 
and  work  with  them.  We  can  say  without  hesitation 
that  the  successful  coordination  and  cooperation  of 
the  school  and  the  community  is  one  of  the  very  im- 
portant problems  of  present-day  education;  it  is,  in 
fact,  one  of  the  phases  of  scientific  management  in 
that  field.  Lack  of  cooperation  means  wasted  energy 
on  both  sides  and  a  consequent  product  in  the  way  of 
child-training  that  is  unsatisfactory  to  school  and  com- 
munity alike.  The  need  of  vital  interaction  is,  more- 
over, especially  urgent  if  the  object  of  education  is 
conceived  to  be  something  more  than  mere  intellec- 
tual discipline.  Social  efficiency  as  an  end  can  be 
attained  only  through  the  general  recognition  of  the 
essential  relation  of  all  forces  which  play  upon  the 
child  and  influence  his  development.  In  this  connec- 
tion the  words  of  one  school  superintendent  are  sig- 
nificant. "As  I  see  the  public  education  situation  at 
present,  the  public  school  system  has  got  just  about 
as  far  as  it  can  get,  working  unaided.  There  is  left 
a  great,  unreached  field,  which  can  be  occupied  only 
through  cooperation  with  other  agencies.  The  more 
these  other  agencies  get  into  cooperative  action  with 
the  schools  the  greater  will  be  the  efficiency  of  school 
work;  and  increased  efficiency  will  not  come  to  any 
great  extent  in  any  other  way." 

Tendency  Toward  Isolating  Social  Processes. — The  re- 
sponsibility for  the  separation  of  the  educational  ac- 
tivities of  the  school  from  those  of  society  rests 
largely  upon  the  community  itself.  It  is  easy,  how- 
ever, to  try  to  shift  responsibility.  The  parent  busied 
with  the  economic  problem  of  the  family  forgets  that, 

93 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

however  good  the  school  may  be,  some  of  the  business 
of  child-training  remains  with  the  home  and  the  com- 
munity. However  far  division  of  labor  may  be  car- 
ried in  some  lines,  it  cannot  be  rendered  absolute  in 
anything  which  is  largely  concerned  with  social  rela- 
tions- A  principle  is  here  involved  which  holds  for 
all  phases  of  democratic  society.  Such  a  society  must 
always  be  keenly  alive  to  the  functions  which  it  dele- 
gates to  this  or  that  special  person  or  institution. 
The  function  of  lawmaking  and  of  law  enforcement, 
for  instance,  in  a  democratic  society,  cannot  be  com- 
pletely turned  over  into  the  hands  of  a  few  individ- 
uals. The  law-makers  and  the  law-enforcers  are  but 
the  agents  of  the  social  will,  and  they  must  follow 
closely  its  decrees. 

Social  Responsibility  Essential. — This  fact  must  al- 
ways be  clearly  appreciated  if  these  agents  are  to 
act  in  the  real  interests  of  the  people.  There  must 
be  all  sorts  of  ways  for  the  will  of  the  people  to  ex- 
press itself.  The  expression  may  sometimes  be  short- 
sighted and  bungling,  but  if  it  is  a  real  expression  of 
the  community  or  of  the  state,  it  is  not  too  high  a 
price  to  pay,  for  the  continuance  of  democratic  insti- 
tutions depends  upon  the  existence  of  a  large  body 
of  men  and  women  who  are  alive  and  responsive  to 
all  sorts  of  social  needs.  It  is  from  this  point  of 
view  that  the  present-day  interest  in  nominations 
through  primaries,  in  the  initiative,  the  referendum, 
and  the  recall  is  of  greatest  significance.  Unless  a 
democratic  society  is  an  illusion,  the  defects  of  all 
such  schemes  are  not  inherent,  but  are  rather  inci- 
dental phases  of  their  development.  In  fine,  a  health- 
ful   society    must    participate,    in  a  general  way,  at 

94 


COOPERATION   WITH   COMMUNITY 

least,  in  all  the  interests  and  activities  which  are  need- 
ful for  its  continued  welfare. 

Close  Relation  of  Home  and  School. — It  is  manifest 
that  the  home  is,  of  all  the  various  agencies  which 
act  upon  child-life  outside  the  school,  the  most  deeply 
and  directly  concerned.  It  is  easy,  however,  for  home 
and  school  to  stand  widely  apart.  The  home  has  its 
economic  duties,  and  these  are  often  insistent  and 
leave  little  time  or  energy  for  anything  else.  On  the 
side  of  the  school,  the  technic  and  the  processes  of 
instruction  are  so  elaborately  developed  that  the 
parent  usually  feels  that  they  are  quite  beyond  his 
comprehension.  The  school-world  becomes  one  of 
mystery,  which  he  looks  at  from  afar,  either  with 
awe,  intrusting  his  children  to  it  without  question, 
or  with  distrust  and  suspicion,  just  because  its  meth- 
ods and  ideals  are  unfamiliar  to  him. 

It  is  quite  natural  that  there  should  be  aspects  of 
the  work  of  the  school  too  technical  for  the  average 
home  thoroughly  to  comprehend.  Albeit,  it  is  most 
needful  that  they  have  some  ground  of  common  un- 
derstanding. The  home  should  have  a  general  ap- 
preciation of  the  aims  of  the  school  as  expressed  in 
the  curriculum  and  other  school  exercises.  It  should 
know,  in  general,  what  the  school  intends  to  accom- 
plish by  teaching  and  training  in  the  way  it  does.  It 
also  should  go  without  saying  that  the  school  must 
have  a  real  and  not  a  perfunctory  interest  in  the  best 
welfare  of  each  child,  and  the  parent  should  know  the 
school  well  enough  to  understand  that  it  does  have 
such  an  interest. 

Value  of  Mutual  Understanding. — With  the  confi- 
dence engendered  by  such  a  general  understanding 

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EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

the  home  will  be  in  a  position  to  cooperate  with  the 
school  in  many  ways  in  realizing  its  worthy  aims;  it 
may  even  do  much  toward  broadening  the  vision  and 
the  purpose  of  the  school  itself.  The  reaction  of 
home  on  school  and  of  school  on  home  should  make 
for  good  in  both  directions.  No  matter  how  poor 
the  homes  and  how  good  the  school,  or  how  good 
the  homes  and  how  poor  the  school,  this  getting  to- 
gether should  be  mutually  helpful. 

Their  Common  Aim. — The  common  object  of  inter- 
est is  the  efficient  training  of  the  child,  for  both  home 
and  school  play  a  part  in  the  process,  and  it  is  of  the 
highest  importance  that  they  work  together  and  not 
at  cross  purposes,  that  there  be  sympathy  and  not  in- 
difference. From  this  center  of  interest  many  spe- 
cific activities  looking  toward  the  betterment  of  both 
home  and  school  will,  and  do,  naturally  develop. 

Need  of  Cooperation. — The  urgent  need  of  coopera- 
tion to-day  grows,  in  part,  out  of  the  extension  of  the 
demands  made  by  and  upon  the  school.  As  long  as 
the  school  occupied  only  a  small  place  in  the  social 
horizon  there  was  scarcely  any  need  for  systematic 
effort  to  bring  home  and  school  together.  In  fact, 
they  were  once  fairly  close  to  one  another.  When 
the  community  was  small,  the  teacher  was  a  part  of 
it,  and  was  known  to  all  the  patrons.  All  the  needed 
cooperation  was  secured  through  the  informal  con- 
tacts between  parents  and  school,  which  sprang  up 
spontaneously. 

Where  parents  frequently  visit  the  schools  of  their 
own  accord  much  can  be  accomplished  in  the  way  of 
mutual  helpfulness,  but  too  little  of  this  sort  of  thing 
usually  occurs,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  large  mod- 

96 


COOPERATION   WITH   COMMUNITY 

ern  school.  In  fact,  informal  visiting,  if  indulged  in 
by  all  patrons,  might  seriously  interfere  with  the 
regular  work.  But,  in  actuality,  it  is  impossible  for 
many  parents  to  be  free  to  visit  the  school,  even  at 
rare  intervals.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  little 
or  no  visiting  of  the  school  by  any  parents  to  inspect 
the  regular  work  of  the  classes.  Some  are  too  busy, 
as  they  think,  and  they  excuse  themselves  on  the 
ground  that  supposedly  competent  teachers  have  been 
employed  to  attend  to  those  phases  of  their  children's 
training,  and  they  can  best  be  left  to  attend  to  it  in 
their  own  way.  Most  parents  also  feel  awkward  and 
out  of  place  in  the  school  room,  and  they  prefer  to 
keep  away  from  it  altogether.  When  they  come  to 
the  school  it  is  usually  to  the  superintendent's  or  prin- 
cipal's office  to  consult  regarding  the  child's  miscon- 
duct or  failure  to  make  proper  progress.  On  all  other 
occasions  the  teachers  and  school  officials  are  left  se- 
verely alone,  many  parents  not  even  knowing  by  face 
or  name  the  teacher  of  their  children. 

Home  and  School  Associations.— It  is  needless  to  say 
that  the  school  life  of  boys  and  girls  ought  not  to 
be  so  completely  separated  from  home  interests  and 
sympathies.  True,  we  should  not  expect  or  desire 
the  parent  to  enter  the  school  room  and  assume  the 
role  of  a  critic  of  the  teacher's  work.  The  teacher 
ought  to  know  more  about  his  work  and  how  to  do  it 
than  any  but  the  most  exceptional  parent.  There  are, 
however,  large  non-technical  questions  which  the 
parent  and  the  school  officers  and  teachers  should 
discuss  together  and  on  the  proper  meeting  of  which 
much  of  the  welfare  and  eflfectiveness  of  the  school 
depends.     To  provide  opportunity   for  such  confer- 

97 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

ences,  various  associations  of  parents  and  teachers, 
or  home  and  school  associations,  or  parent-teacher 
clubs  have  been  organized  in  many  parts  of  this 
country. 

Their  Function.^The  function  of  these  associations 
is,  first  of  all,  to  get  the  teachers  and  parents  ac- 
quainted. To  bring  them  together  merely  in  an  in- 
formal, social  way  is  a  good  thing.  Such  meeting 
together  softens  prejudices,  enkindles  kindly  regard, 
and  a  spirit  of  readiness  to  help  one  another,  such  as 
can  be  secured  in  no  other  way.  On  the  basis  of  the 
common  understanding  and  acquaintance  thus  engen- 
dered, the  Parent-Teacher  Association  can  reach  out 
and  do  many  things  to  further  the  effectiveness  of 
the  school.  It  becomes  a  means,  in  the  first  place, 
of  enlightening  the  parents  as  to  the  aims  of  the 
school,  and  of  informing  the  parents  as  to  ways  in 
which  they  can  help  the  school  accomplish  its  pur- 
poses. 

This  is  especially  needful  to-day  in  those  communi- 
ties where  there  is  a  large  foreign  element.  It  is  of 
the  utmost  importance  that  these  strangers  within  our 
gates  should  know  what  our  American  schools  are 
striving  to  do  for  American  children.  The  course  of 
study  needs  to  be  explained,  and  where,  as  in  the 
upper  grades,  there  are  different  courses  of  study,  the 
respective  aims  of  each  need  to  be  discussed.  The 
relation  of  school  training  to  vocation  can  be  set  forth 
and  the  foundations  of  effective  work  in  vocational 
guidance  can  be  laid.  Where  home  work  is  required 
by  the  school  the  nature  and  amount  can  be  explained, 
and  the  parent  can  be  made  to  see  in  what  ways  he 
can  make  this  home  work  really  beneficial  to  his  chil- 

98 


COOPERATION   WITH   COMMUNITY 

dren.  One  of  the  greatest  goods  that  can  come  from 
such  explanations  is  the  development,  in  the  home,  of 
a  spirit  of  sympathy  and  assistance  toward  the  school. 
The  existence  of  such  a  spirit  the  children  are  quick  to 
detect,  and  it  has  much  to  do  with  their  taking  school 
requirements  seriously.  They  realize  that  their  pa- 
rents and  their  teachers  are  working  together.  Where 
there  is  any  suspicion  of  cross-purpose  or  of  indiffer- 
ence of  one  toward  the  other,  the  pupil  is  ready  to 
take  advantage  of  it. 

Value  of  the  Parent-teacher  Association. — It  is  easy 
for  the  Parent-teacher  Association  to  pass  beyond 
these  narrower  problems  of  school  policy  and  con- 
sider many  questions  of  child  welfare,  which  are 
quite  as  much  problems  of  the  community  as  of  the 
school.  In  doing  so,  the  progressive  school  does  not 
pass  beyond  its  legitimate  sphere.  It  should  be  actively 
interested  in  all  that  has  to  do  with  the  welfare  of 
children.  By  no  possible  twist  of  logic  can  the  proper 
interest  of  the  educator  be  confined  to  the  narrow 
problems  of  the  school-room.  The  general  well-being 
of  the  children  of  the  community  is  oj  much  the  con- 
cern of  the  school  as  is  their  progress  in  the  narrower 
school  tasks.    The  one  inevitably  reacts  on  the  other. 

Intelligent  teachers  should  be  able  to  suggest  many 
ways  of  bettering  the  conditions  of  child-life  and  con- 
secjuently  improving  the  school  work.      Not  merely 

I  can  teachers  suggest  such  things,  they  can  actively 
cooperate  with  parents  in  bringing  them  to  pass  in 
the  community. 
We  have  here  the  second  function  of  the  Parent- 
teacher  Association,  namely,  that  of  actually  endeav- 
oring to  uplift  the  community  itself  as  a  basis  for 
99 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

the  working  out  of  a  more  effective  school  program. 
The  school  can  actively  cooperate  with  the  more  intel- 
ligent parents,  not  only  in  making  better  conditions 
for  child  growth,  but  also  in  enlightening  and  train- 
ing the  less  intelligent  parents.  Such  problems  as  that 
of  children's  savings,  the  nickel  theater,  development 
of  responsibility  through  some  regular  home  duties, 
the  child's  play  hours,  the  home  garden,  how  to  coun- 
teract the  vicious  influences  of  the  modern  city,  prob- 
lems of  food,  clothing,  fresh  air,  sleep,  care  of  teeth, 
suitable  reading  for  children,  moral  training,  regular- 
ity of  school  attendance,  etc.,  have  all  been  taken  up 
and  profitably  discussed  by  parents  and  teachers. 
Even  parents  of  more  than  average  intelligence  may 
often  be  helpfully  enlightened  on  some  of  these 
matters. 

Eesults  Accomplished. — As  to  actual  results  accom- 
plished, much  might  be  reported.  In  some  places,  for 
example,  these  associations  have  secured  the  proper 
guidance  of  the  pupils'  social  and  athletic  activities. 
In  other  places  better  equipment  for  the  schools  has 
been  secured,  either  through  the  board  of  education, 
or  through  a  general  appeal  to  the  people.  School 
spirit  has  been  improved,  parents  and  teachers  are 
led  to  know  each  other.  Some  communities  report 
that  tardiness  has  been  diminished  thereby  and  the 
necessity  of  discipline  reduced  one-third.  They  have 
been  partly  responsible  in  various  places  for  the  cur- 
few, for  increasing  interest  in  the  supervision  of  play- 
grounds. Buildings  have  been  furnished  with  pic- 
tures and  libraries,  many  schools  have  gone  far  toward 
becoming  real  social  centers  of  their  communities. 
One  state  president  reports  that,  through  the  influ- 

lOO 


COOPERATION   WITH   COMl^UKirV  : 

ence  of  these  clubs,  the  tie  between  the  schools  and  the 
communities  is  yearly  growing  stronger.  Flags, 
pianos,  and  victrolas  have  been  secured  for  schools, 
picnics,  basket  suppers,  etc.,  have  been  arranged. 
Even  needed  legislation  has  been  secured,  and  the 
active  support  of  the  administrative  officers  in  many 
matters  related  to  the  increased  efficiency  of  the 
schools  has  been  obtained. 

In  other  places  sanitary  drinking  fountains  have 
been  installed  through  the  help  of  these  associations, 
school  gardens  have  been  established,  money  has  been 
raised  for  the  improvement  of  roads  leading  to  the 
school,  laws  against  selling  cigarettes  to  minors  are 
enforced,  and  town  "clean-ups"  and  sane  Fourth-of- 
July  celebrations  secured.  These  are  natural  and  tan- 
gible results,  and  many  more  might  be  mentioned, 
but  they  are  probably  less  significant  than  the  deeper 
spiritual  values  which  are  the  outcome  of  the  coopera- 
tion of  school  and  home.  "That  children  thrive  under 
the  new  and  sympathetic  relation  of  home  and  school 
induced  by  these  meetings  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
they  almost  always  urge  their  mothers  and  fathers  to 
attend.  One  mother  said  that  before  the  school  had 
parents'  meetings  her  children  never  wanted  her  to 
come  because  she  was  poorly  dressed,  but  now,  seeing 
her  a  part  of  the  meeting,  and  probably  experiencing 
a  newly  sympathetic  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  teacher 
and  a  more  intelligent  understanding  of  the  school 
on  the  part  of  the  mother,  they  have  urged  her  to 
come,  clothes  or  no  clothes,  and  have  really  seemed 
to  have  more  respect  for  her  opinions."  * 

*  Statement  furnished  by  The  National  Congress  of 
Mothers.    The  author  is  indebted  to  Mrs.  E.  H.  Weeks  of 

lOI 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

It  is  usually  found  that  the  getting  together  of 
the  parents  involves  little  extra  labor  for  anyone. 
The  children  themselves  often  write  the  invitations 
and  carry  them  home.  The  programs  of  the  meet- 
ings usually  consist  of  a  short  talk  or  paper  on  some 
subject  vital  to  child-welfare  followed  by  free  dis- 
cussion. Sometimes  simple  refreshments  are  served 
in  the  social  half  hour  which  follows.  There  may  be 
musical  programs,  or  other  forms  of  entertainment 
occasionally. 

Various  Methods. — Great  diversity  exists  as  to  plans 
and  methods.  In  some  places  only  one  or  two  meet- 
ings a  year  are  provided,  and  these  mainly  that  the 
parents  and  teachers  may  get  acquainted.  In  others 
the  meetings  are  more  frequent,  sometimes  even 
monthly,  and  on  Friday  afternoons  or  evenings.  Suc- 
cess, of  course,  demands  leadership,  and  this  may 
come  either  from  the  side  of  the  school  or  the  home. 
The  general  experience  is  that  most  teachers  will 
heartily  cooperate  when  they  find  that  it  imposes 
little  extra  labor  upon  themselves.  This  is  especially 
true  in  certain  states  and  cities  where  the  work  is 
well  organized.  In  the  state  of  Washington,  for  ex- 
ample, a  Parent-teacher  Bulletin  is  published :  Boston 
has  a  Home  and  School  News-letter.  Los  Angeles 
has  1 08  of  these  associations,  united  in  a  central  or- 
ganization. The  Superintendent  of  Schools  writes: 
*The  Parent-teacher  Associations  of  Los  Angeles 
city  have  exercised  a  very  remarkable  influence  for 
good  by  intelligent  and  sympathetic  cooperation  with 
the   board  of  education,    superintendents,   principals, 

the  Publication  Committee  of  this  organization  for  valuable 
assistance  in  gathering  data  for  this  chapter. 

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COOPERATION   WITH   COMMUNITY 

and  teachers,  in  work  directly  and  indirectly  related 
to  the  public  schools." 

Advantages  Mutual. — It  is  not  assumed  that  the  ad- 
vantage has  been  all  on  the  side  of  the  parents.  The 
teachers  may  be  quite  as  much  helped  as  the  parents. 
In  fact,  nothing  will  so  tend  to  vitalize  the  teacher's 
work  and  raise  it  above  the  perfunctory  level  as  to 
get  an  occasional  glimpse  beyond  the  school-room  upon 
the  broad  human  problem  of  which  the  school-work 
is  only  a  part.  As  one  student  of  the  subject  writes : 
*The  teacher,  somewhat  overbalanced  by  too  much 
dwelling  on  system  and  curriculum,  finds  her  sympa- 
thies refreshed  by  coming  into  contact  with  the  home- 
relations  of  the  children.  She  realizes  more  vividly 
the  conditions  under  which  they  must  work  at  home, 
makes  fairer  allowances  for  shortcomings,  and  is 
often  able  to  suggest  changes  that  are  most  helpful 
to  her  charges.  Even  the  untrained  parents  can  give 
good  common-sense  advice,  and  the  contact  of  such 
parents  with  the  trained  mind  of  the  teacher  is  of  in- 
calculable value  to  the  home." 

Current  Criticism  of  Schools. — A  great  hue  and  cry 
is  being  raised  to-day  through  the  popular  maga- 
zines about  the  inefficiency  of  our  American  public 
schools.  Their  training  is  said  to  be  abstract  and  far 
removed  from  any  of  the  vital  needs  of  present-day 
social  life.  Boys  and  girls,  completing  the  common 
school  and  high  school  course,  are  said  to  be  prepared 
for  nothing.  They  are  not  enabled  through  their 
school  training  to  enter  into  any  vocation  within  or 
without  the  home.  Any  success  the  boy  attains  in 
business  or  industry  or  any  proficiency  the  girl  shows 
for  home-making  duties  is  said  to  be  attained  by  ave- 

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EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

nues  outside  the  school  walls  rather  than  within  them. 
Of  course  these  criticisms,  though  in  a  measure  true, 
are  one-sided.  The  public  has  an  exaggerated  idea  of 
what  can  be  accomplished  in  the  way  of  specific  voca- 
tional training  in  the  years  of  childhood  and  early 
youth.  The  main  part  of  the  child's  business  in  these 
years  is  to  grow  unhampered  by  economic  necessity. 
Nevertheless  there  is  no  justification  for  ignoring 
altogether  these  criticisms.  The  school  has  its  grave 
shortcomings,  of  which  teachers  as  a  whole  are  about 
as  keenly  conscious  as  is  the  world  outside,  if  not 
more  so.  For  these  shortcomings,  however,  it  is  not 
merely  the  teachers  and  the  appointed  administrators 
of  public  instruction  who  are  to  be  held  responsible, 
but  society  as  a  whole. 

Schools  Represent  Community  Development. — The 
schools  are  usually  on  a  par  with  the  social  body 
that  supports  them.  If  they  are  narrow  and  short- 
sighted in  their  method  and  range  of  work,  they  are 
probably  not  more  so  than  are  the  other  institutions 
and  forms  of  social  activity.  The  general  improve- 
ment of  the  schools  is  bound  up  with  the  improvement 
of  society  and  with  the  development  of  a  higher  so- 
cial intelligence.  The  schools  are,  therefore,  much 
more  the  expression  of  the  social  will  and  of  social 
intelligence  than  the  critics  in  the  public  press  usually 
seem  to  imagine.  With  all  their  defects,  as  well  as 
their  excellencies,  they  are  bound  up  with  the  social 
and  intellectual  life  of  their  communities.  If  their 
methods  are  inadequate,  and,  if  the  studies  are  lack- 
ing in  vital  appeal  to  boys  and  girls,  it  is  in  part  a 
phase  of  the  imperfection  of  modern  social  life. 

Collective   life  has    increased   in  bulk   out   of   all 

104 


COOPERATION   WITH   COMMUNITY 

proportion  to  the  development  of  the  more  deh'cate 
coordinating  machinery  which  alone  can  render  bulk 
effective  and  worth  while.  We  are  socialized  ade- 
quately only  in  spots.  There  is  a  general  lack  of 
ability  to  put  into  effective  play  the  good  ideals  that 
most  people  have.  Hence  it  is  not  strange  that  much 
of  the  effort  expended,  not  merely  in  the  school,  but 
also  in  other  lines  of  social  activity — for  example, 
in  the  church,  the  lodge,  labor  unions,  and  charities — 
fails  in  many  ways  to  accomplish  the  full  good  at 
which  it  aims.  We  must  think  of  the  retardation  of 
the  children  in  their  grades,  their  rapid  elimination, 
as  the  upper  limit  of  compulsory  school  attendance 
is  reached,  and  the  general  lack  of  interest  in  the 
work  and  lack  of  sympathy  of  school  with  life  as 
evidence,  not  so  much  of  wrong  ideals,  as  of  the  un- 
wieldiness  of  the  social  machinery. 

Parent-teacher  Association  Can  Increase  Educational 
Efficiency. — It  would  seem  that  not  the  least  impor- 
tant thing  to  be  done  in  the  effort  to  overcome  these 
conditions  would  be  the  bringing  of  parent  and  teacher 
together  in  such  associations  as  have  been  described 
above.  Their  object  is  to  acquaint  the  teacher  with 
the  home,  and  the  home  with  the  teacher  and  the 
school,  and  to  establish  cooperation  where  now  there 
is  indifference,  if  not  active  antagonism.  They  intro- 
duce the  teachers  into  an  active  participation  in  com- 
munity problems,  and  the  parent  is  enabled,  not  merely 
to  appreciate  what  the  school  is  doing,  but  to  under- 
stand more  intelligently  its  shortcomings.  There  is 
not  one  thing  more  needed  for  the  betterment  of  the 
schools  than  that  the  parents  should  see  at  first  hand 
the  actual  conditions  of  that  work  and  should  discuss 
8  105 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

it  with  the  teachers  and  other  school  officers.  The 
reaction  of  an  enlightened  public  sentiment  will  do 
much  to  better  many  phases  of  the  school  work,  phases 
that  the  community  would  never  appreciate,  nor  in- 
deed sanction  until  they  see  for  themselves  and  have 
the  need  explained  to  them  by  the  teachers  and  other 
school  officers. 

The  National  Organization. — The  movement  for  Pa- 
rent-teacher Associations  has  had  many  independent 
beginnings  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  but  so 
important  and  so  widespread  has  their  value  proved  to 
be  that  a  national  organization  has  recently  been 
formed,  having  as  its  aim  the  systematic  development 
of  such  associations  everywhere.  The  only  prerequis- 
ite for  success  in  any  community  seems  to  be  that  a 
few  live  teachers  or  patrons  shall  wish  for  such  an 
association,  and  the  national  organization  stands  ready 
to  advise  how  to  get  started  and  how  to  conduct  along 
lines  that  have  been  proved  to  be  successful.  Two 
types  of  meetings  are  suggested  for  these  associa- 
tions, one  in  which  all  parents  and  teachers  of  a 
school  come  together  ''for  a  social  time  and  to  hear 
and  discuss  a  paper  or  short  lecture  on  some  subject 
of  mutual  interest",  and  another,  in  which  each  grade 
teacher  meets  the  mothers  of  her  particular  group  of 
children.  One  practical  worker  regards  the  individual 
grade  meeting  as  "the  very  foundation  of  a  successful 
parents'  association  for  it  is  here  that  we  work  out 
our  ideals  and  accomplish  that  intimate  intercourse 
between  mother,  teacher,  and  child,  which  is  so  vital 
to  the  work".  It  is  on  the  basis  of  the  interest 
aroused  in  these  grade  meetings  that  the  fathers' 
sympathies  are  enlisted,  and  thus  both  parents  are  in- 

io6 


COOPERATION   WITH   COMMUNITY 

duced  to  attend  the  larger  evening  meetings  of  the 
entire  association. 

The  Home  and  School  Visitor. — An  important  ad- 
junct of  the  associations  of  parents  and  teachers  in 
some  cities,  particularly  in  Boston,  is  the  Home  and 
School  Visitor.  It  was  found  that  many  parents, 
especially  those  most  needing  to  do  so,  could  never 
attend  the  meetings  at  the  schools.  The  Boston  re- 
port says :  "The  school  visitor  is  an  interpreter  from 
the  school  to  the  home  and  the  home  to  the  school." 
The  opportunity  for  usefulness  open  to  an  expert 
worker  is,  of  course,  very  great,  especially  where  the 
foreign  element  is  large.  Homes  are  studied,  difficult 
children  looked  up  and  all  sorts  of  problems  of  physi- 
cal and  moral  hygiene  are  met. 

The  Master  of  one  of  the  schools  reports:  "The 
Visitor  enlightens  parents,  where  necessary,  respect- 
ing the  work  and  requirements  of  the  school,  aids 
teachers  on  request  to  a  fuller  understanding  of  the 
pupil,  and  rescues  many  a  child  from  a  career  of  de- 
ceit and  double  dealing.  With  us,  as  elsewhere,  are 
found  unsatisfactory  pupils  of  many  different  types. 
What  of  the  irritable  and  ill-conditioned  boy?  If 
lacking  sleep,  is  it  of  his  own  wilfulness,  or  because 
of  possible  parental  exactions?  What  of  the  boy 
who  fails  in  home  lessons?  Is  it  his  neglect,  or  be- 
cause of  ill-regulated  home  conditions?  And  so  on 
to  the  habitually  tardy  pupil,  the  untidy,  the  unkempt, 
the  never-to-be-forgotten  cigarettist,  and  many  more." 
Such  pupils  through  the  ministrations  of  the  school 
visitor  may  become  "subjects  for  moral  recovery". 
The  work  of  a  Home  and  School  Visitor  can  be  in- 
trusted only  to  a  person  of  wisdom  and  experience. 

107 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

Only  matters  directly  arising  in  the  school  are  to  be 
engaged  in,  and  all  conference  in  the  home  limited 
to  the  reasonable  necessities  of  the  case  in  hand.  The 
work  is  undertaken  in  a  spirit  of  sympathy  and  help- 
fulness for  honest  and,  it  may  be,  overburdened 
parents." 

Summary  and  Conclusion. — Enough  has  been  said 
of  the  value  of  home  and  school  associations  in  the 
development  of  a  socially  efficient  education.  The 
underlying  need  expressed  in  such  organizations  is 
that  all  the  forces  in  a  community  concerned  with 
the  education  of  the  boys  and  girls  should  maintain 
a  real  interest  in  the  enterprise,  and  should  have  their, 
aims  and  efforts  rather  definitely  correlated.  Of 
course  this  correlation  of  efforts  and  aims  is  not  all 
that  is  needful,  but  it  is  one  thing  that  cannot  be 
neglected;  it  is  one  phase  that  is  vitally  essential. 
There  is  no  better  way  to  make  the  children  feel  that 
their  school  training  is  worth  while.  Such  organiza- 
tion of  a  community  about  its  educational  interests 
will  keep  these  interests  in  vital  touch  with  life,  and 
will  go  far  toward  making  the  work  in  the  school  not 
mere  preparation  for  life,  but  real  participation  in 
life  itself.  And,  as  we  have  seen,  and  shall  see  again, 
in  the  various  phases  of  our  study,  the  primary  need 
is  just  this.  There  is  no  medium  or  means  for  train- 
ing in  social  efficiency  that  is  superior  to  a  natural 
social  atmosphere  in  which  each  child  may  fully  par- 
ticipate. 


CHAPTER    VII 
PLAY  AS  A  FACTOR  IN   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

Social  Values  of  Play. — The  realization  of  the  so- 
cial ideal  in  education  depends  quite  as  much  upon 
healthful  play  as  upon  work.  The  playground,  more- 
over, is  the  immemorial  place  for  learning  how  to 
live  and  work  with  others.  Here  the  idea  of  "social 
oneness",  of  group  life,  develops  through  team  games. 
The  conflicts  of  the  playground  develop  the  first  no- 
tions of  social  justice  and  lawfulness.  Here  boys 
and  girls  learn  to  be  leaders  and  learn  how  "to  play 
the  game"  against  all  sorts  of  odds.  We  recall  that 
when  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  asked  to  explain 
his  victory  at  Waterloo,  he  replied  that  it  had  been 
won  years  before  on  the  playgrounds  of  Eton. 

Many  values  attach  to  play,  and  they  are  all  of 
more  or  less  significance,  in  a  social  way,  but  most 
of  them  have  been  fully  set  forth  by  others,  and 
hence  need  not  be  repeated  here; 

It  has  been  truly  pointed  out  that  play  is,  for  in- 
stance, a  preparation  for  adult  life.  For  one  thing,  it 
introduces  the  child  to  the  meanings  of  many  adult 
activities.  It  is  needful,  also,  that  he  may  learn  to 
use  his  limbs  and  his  mind  readily;  needful  for  physi- 
cal development,  for  strong  muscles,  for  healthy 
lungs.  Play  is  worth  much,  also,  as  a  means  of  rest 
from  other  forms  of  activity.    It  gives  an  opportunity 

109 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

for  the  tired  mind  or  body  to  recover  its  balance  and 
return  to  more  exacting  duties  with  new  energy  and 
effectiveness.  It  is  the  best  of  all  agencies  for  keep- 
ing alive  the  joyous,  buoyant  spirit  that  all  men  and 
women  need  for  a  truly  happy  life.  All  of  these  op- 
portunities also  are  of  distinct  social  value,  for  all 
sound  social  life  must  be  made  up  of  healthy-bodied 
and  healthy-minded  individuals. 

It  is,  however,  a  more  specific  relation  between  play 
and  social  efficiency  that  interests  us  here.  Namely, 
the  opportunity  afforded  by  play  and  the  playground 
for  training  in  social  relationships  and  for  building 
up  in  boys  and  girls  the  best  social  ideals.  For  many 
years,  even  for  centuries,  a  few  people  have  recog- 
nized the  educational  importance  of  play,  but  it  is 
only  within  the  last  few  decades  that  its  individual 
and  social  worth  has  been  adequately  understood,  at 
least  to  the  extent  of  serious  and  systematic  attempts 
to  work  it  out  in  a  general  and  practical  way. 

The  Playground  Movement. — One  of  the  most  strik- 
ing educational  phenomena  of  the  last  decade  has 
been  the  rapid  development  of  public-school  and  mu- 
nicipal playgrounds  and  other  recreation  centers.  The 
movement  has  been  so  rapid  that  it  is  hardly  likely 
that  it  is,  in  every  case,  motivated  by  a  clear  apprecia- 
tion of  all  its  social  meanings.  It  is  the  fashion  for  an 
up-to-date  city  to  have  playgrounds,  and  so  the  play- 
ground is  installed,  whether  anyone  sees  the  social 
need  for  it  or  not.  Probably  the  most  impelling  mo- 
tive in  their  establishment  in  large  cities  has  been  the 
purely  practical  desire  to  get  children  off  the  streets 
and  to  lessen,  if  possible,  the  tendency  to  vicious 
types   of  play  and  the  temptation  to  crime.      Play- 

IIO 


PLAY   AND    SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

grounds  have  actually  proved  their  effectiveness  in 
these  directions.  They  have  prevented  crime  by  fur- 
nishing play  opportunities.  They  have  proved  that 
child  nature  becomes  vicious  through  neglect  and  not 
through  inherent  badness. 

Play  and  Education. — The  social  meaning  of  play 
and  its  place  in  education  present  two  slightly  differ- 
ent phases.  One  of  them  is  the  training  in  social 
relations,  referred  to  above.  The  other  phase  is  the 
one  now  mentioned,  namely :  that  of  preventing  crime 
through  furnishing  a  safe  outlet  to  youthful  spirits. 
Other  social  values  may  suggest  themselves  as  we 
consider  these  main  ones. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  in  earlier  chapters  that 
education  for  true  social  efficiency  must  be  modeled 
largely  upon  the  suggestions  furnished  by  community 
life  itself.  In  social  matters,  as  in  all  else  that  is 
human,  one  learns  to  do  by  doing.  There  is  no  substi- 
tute for  the  training  afforded  by  actual  participation 
in  life  and  its  various  responsibilities.  A  truly  so- 
cialized education  must,  therefore,  get  many  of  its 
most  important  ideas  of  method  by  going  back  to 
the  spontaneous  community  life  which  is  back  of  all 
schools  and  from  which  they  themselves  have  sprung. 
Simple  neighborhood  life  is  the  greatest  socializes 
Here  people  come  into  intimate  contact  with  each 
other,  and  here  the  most  fundamental  and  most  ad- 
mirable of  human  characteristics  may  naturally  de- 
velop. 

The  normal  home,  with  its  parents,  its  children, 
and  its  natural  divisions  of  labor,  also  affords  many 
suggestions  as  to  what  the  normal  life  of  the  school 
should  be.     The  school  cannot  completely  reproduce 

III 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

family  relations,  but  it  can  often  examine  itself  with 
reference  to  the  family  ideal,  and,  in  this  way,  de- 
velop its  own  life  along  more  wholesome  lines.  In 
proportion  as  the  school  recognizes  and  keenly  appre- 
ciates the  fact  that  education  is  for  social  as  well  as 
for  intellectual  ends  will  it  need  to  study  and  utilize 
these  socializing  forces  which  exist  outside  its  walls. 
In  fact,  the  work  of  the  school  should  be  largely  that 
of  selecting  the  best  things  which  appear  thus  spon- 
taneously, and  developing  them  to  their  fullest  useful- 
ness. It  cannot  create  mind,  or  individual  power,  or 
social  forces.  It  can  only  study  these  movements  of 
life  in  children,  determine  whither  they  are  tending, 
and  attempt  to  give  them  opportunity  for  expression 
in  profitable  directions. 

Need  of  Attention  to  Play  Life. — No  opportunity 
for  social  training  is,  then,  more  significant  or  more 
effective  than  that  afforded  by  play,  and,  if  the  school 
is  to  strive  toward  the  ideal  of  social  efficiency,  it 
cannot  afford  to  neglect  the  play-life  of  boys  and 
girls.  Like  all  else  that  belongs  to  the  child's  in- 
formal life  play  is  the  soil  from  which  evil,  as  well  as 
good,  may  spring  up.  There  are  manifold  opportuni- 
ties everywhere  for  intellectual  training  and  for  moral 
training,  but,  left  undirected,  the  results  are  uncer- 
tain and  often  perverted.  So  also  with  the  play  of 
childhood.  It  is  instinctive  and,  to  a  certain  extent, 
it  may  be  allowed  to  take  care  of  itself,  but,  that  its 
possibilities  for  good  may  be  fully  realized,  it  must 
be  made  an  object  of  study  and  of  systematic  atten- 
tion. 

Most  human  instincts  play  an  important  part  in  the 
development  of   normal  men  and   women;   that    is, 

112 


PLAY   AND    SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

they  are,  in  a  sense,  good,  or,  at  least,  more  readily 
turned  to  a  good  end  than  to  an  evil  end.  Not  one 
of  them,  however,  but  is  capable  of  perversion  or 
becoming  an  agency  for  great  harm.  It  is  worth 
while  to  note,  just  because  instincts  have  this  value 
for  human  development,  that  the  good  in  them  is  eas- 
ier of  attainment  than  the  evil.  The  first  flowering 
of  an  instinct  is  nearly  always  beautiful:  it  struggles 
awhile  to  work  itself  out  along  right  lines,  just  as  a 
tree  tends  to  grow  upright,  or  a  plant  to  produce 
flowers  according  to  its  type.  However  distorted 
the  flower  or  the  tree,  we  can  always  see  the  evidence 
of  the  struggle  to  follow  out  its  original  nature;  to 
be  straight,  or  to  be  beautiful.  It  is  here  that  we 
get  our  cue  as  to  the  possibilities  of  play,  and  to  the 
need  of  its  proper  cultivation  that  the  normal  instinct 
may  have  a  chance  to  contribute  its  part  to  sound 
manhood  and  womanhood. 

Rudimentary  Social  Ideals  on  the  Playground. — In  the 
life  of  the  playground  social  relationships  and  ideals 
appear  in  rudimentary  form.  Here  we  find  emerging 
quite  spontaneously  such  fine  traits  of  character  as 
loyalty,  truthfulness,  or  good  faith,  generosity,  de- 
votion of  one's  self  to  the  welfare  of  a  group,  respect 
for  law  and  orderliness.  All  of  these  qualities  are  of 
the  highest  social  value.  A  true  education  for  social 
efficiency  must  make  use  of  all  of  them.  They  appear 
on  the  playground,  even  in  those  incidents  that  may 
seem  to  need  repression.  The  dispute  or  fight  of  chil- 
dren is  not  necessarily  a  bad  thing,  but  even  where 
it  is,  it  usually  grows  out  of  an  attempt  on  the  part 
of  the  players  to  secure  fairer  play;  it  is  their  reac- 
tion against  injustice,  or  the  infraction  of  some  other 

113 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

instinctive  ideal,  and  what  is  really  needed  in  such 
cases  is  such  oversight  that  the  children  will  not  be 
too  harsh  in  their  efforts  to  secure  justice. 

The  influence  of  the  playground  upon  later  life  is 
evident  in  the  fact  that  many  of  our  adult  ideals  of 
proper  human  relations  continue  to  be  stated  in  the 
language  of  the  playground,  for  example,  fair  play, 
being  square,  and  so  forth. 

In  play,  then,  the  child  gets  his  first  experience 
and  training  in  social  virtues  outside  the  family.  As 
Cooley  says,  *  "Everyone  remembers  how  the  idea  of 

justice  is  developed  in  children's  games.  There  is 
always  something  to  be  done,  in  which  various  parts 
are  to  be  taken,  success  depending  on  their  efficient 
distribution.  All  see  this  and  draw  from  experience 
the  idea  that  there  is  a  higher  principle  that  ought 
to  control  the  undisciplined  ambition  of  individuals. 
'Rough  games  in  many  respects  present  in  miniature 
the  conditions  of  a  society  where  an  ideal  state  of 
justice,  freedom  and  equality  prevails.' 

"The  decisions  in  most  of  the  disputes  have  behind 
them  the  obviously  social  motive  of  carrying  on  a 
successful  game.  The  sense  of  common  interest  has 
been  stretched  so  as  to  take  the  competitive  impulse 
itself  into  camp,  domesticate  it,  and  make  it  a  part  of 
the  social  system.  The  acutely  realized  fact  that  a 
society  of  kickers  can  never  play  a  game  or  anything 
else  comes  to  be  seen  against  a  background  of  a  pos- 
sibly orderly  arrangement  of  which  one  has  had 
occasional  experience,  and  with  which  one  has  come  at 
last  to  sympathize;  there  comes  to  be  to  some  extent 

*  Social  Organisation. 

114 


PLAY   AND   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

an  identification  of  one's  own  interests  and  purposes 
with  the  interests  and  purposes  of  the  whole.  Cer- 
tainly the  decisions  of  the  group  as  to  whether  Jimmy 
was  out  at  first,  as  to  who  came  out  last,  and  whether 
Mary  Ann  was  really  caught,  are  felt  as  community 
and  not  as  individual  decisions."  As  another  writer 
says :  "We  are  only  just  beginning  to  appreciate  the 
great  significance  and  value  of  play  as  a  developing 
and  uplifting  force  in  building  the  character  of  our 
future  citizens.  It  would  be  difficult  to  over-state 
the  value  of  the  lesson  acquired  in  organized  play,  of 
learning  to  be  a  *good  loser*.  I  doubt  whether  there 
is  any  lesson  that  is  more  essential  for  a  man  to  learn 
at  an  early  age.  In  fact,  it  is  in  the  recreative  activi- 
ties that  the  social  nature  finds  its  fullest  and  freest 
expression.  Only  when  work  is  laid  aside  and  people 
are  mingling  in  their  avocations  are  the  social  powers 
at  their  best." 

Need  of  Supervision.^ — In  order  that  the  full  educa- 
tional and  social  values  of  play  may  be  realized,  a 
play  director  has  been  found  to  be  most  necessary. 
The  phrase,  "directed  play",  may  seem  to  some  per- 
sons to  be  a  contradiction  in  terms.  How  can  it  be 
real  play  if  it  is  supervised?  Is  not  the  very  essence 
of  play  spontaneous,  free  activity,  joyfully  planned 
and  carried  out  by  the  children  themselves?  If  this 
ideal  were  actually  realized  on  the  undirected  play- 
ground, little  more  need  be  said,  but  such  is  not  the 
case.  There  are  all  sorts  of  obstacles  to  its  being 
realized.  In  the  first  place  children  often  do  not  know 
what  to  play,  either  because  they  are  actually  ignorant 
of  good  games,  or  because  no  one  game  is  familiar 
to  a  sufficiently  large  number  of  children  to  be  played 

"5 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

successfully.  All  children  have  the  same  instinctive 
impulse,  but  what  they  play  they  must  learn  from 
others.  "Children,  whether  savage  or  civilized,  learn 
their  games  from  one  another,  and  from  imitating 
and  symbolizing  adult  life."  In  the  stable  communi- 
ties of  earlier  times  games  and  plays  from  the  im- 
memorial past  were  easily  transmitted  from  one  gen- 
eration of  children  to  another.  But  not  so  where 
populations  are  changing.  Play  traditions  are  easily 
shattered,  and  only  the  poorest  games  are  saved. 
When  children  from  different  localities  and  countries 
come  together  they  soon  forget  their  native  sports. 
Their  play  impulse  may  be  reduced  to  mere  running, 
pushing,  or  teasing.  This  is  about  the  situation  in 
the  average  shifting  American  community.  "Ameri- 
can children  of  to-day  are  poorer  in  imagination, 
ideality,  and  invention  than  their  forefathers;  for  they 
have  lost  many  of  the  old  games."  * 

The  situation  is  even  worse  among  the  children  of 
the  congested  districts  of  the  cities.  The  condition 
described  by  Miss  Kennard,  the  president  of  the  Pitts- 
burgh Playground  Association,  is  not  peculiar  to  that 
city.  The  children  found  there  are  usually  either  of 
foreign  birth  or  foreign  parentage.  "Their  new 
Americanism  demands  complete  forgetfulness  of  the 
old  country  and  its  ways.  They  must  adopt  the  play 
traditions  of  their  adopted  country.  But  what  sug- 
gestions of  play  could  they  find  in  a  city  of  iron, 
whose  monster  machinery  rested  neither  day  nor 
night?  Their  surroundings  were  ugly  and  forlorn. 
In  many  places  green  things  could  not  grow  because 
of  the    fall  of   smoke,   which   swept  heavily  down, 

*  Miss  Kennard. 

ii6 


PLAY   AND   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

clouding  the  sunlight,  and  leaving  a  deposit  of  grime 
on  everything,  including  the  children.  If  the  imagi- 
nation is  fed  by  sense  impressions,  these  children 
could  have  little  idea  of  life  other  than  mere  existence 
for  the  sake  of  work.  Without  playground,  play- 
traditions,  imagination  or  vitality,  we  found  that  these 
children  literally  did  not  know  how  to  play."  *  The 
play  director  is  needed,  then,  to  suggest  good  games 
to  the  children  and  show  them  how  to  play  them. 
The  average  child,  under  the  most  favorable  circum- 
stances, knows  but  a  few  of  the  rich  store  of  games 
which  are  his  heritage  from  the  childhood  of  the  race. 
His  only  means  of  getting  them  is  through  imitation 
of  other  children,  who  are  not  apt  to  be  better  off 
than  himself,  or  through  actual  instruction.  Most 
children  welcome  such  help  from  an  older  head. 
What  teacher  has  not  had  her  children  gather  around 
her  with  the  touching  appeal  that  she  tell  them  some- 
thing to  play? 

Leadership  also  Essential. — Not  merely  is  instruction 
needed,  but  also  leadership.  The  capacity  for  lead- 
ership should  be  developed  in  boys  and  girls,  but  this 
loes  not  always  occur  when  they  are  left  entirely 
alone.  A  boor  or  a  bully  may  dominate  and  exploit 
tlie  playground  for  his  own  selfish  gratification.  The 
"natural  leader"  is  not  always  the  best  leader.  Then, 
again,  while  most  children  appreciate  the  need  of  law, 
of  order,  of  taking  turns,  and,  while  to  some  extent 
these  matters  are  adjusted  by  the  children  themselves, 
a  few  selfish  ones  may,  nevertheless,  try  to  keep  the 
swings,  the  teeter-boards,  the  other  opportunities,  and 
the  best  places  in  the  games,  if  there  is  not  a  director 

♦  Miss  Kennard  in  The  Pittsburgh  Survey. 
117 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

to  interfere.  A  referee  is  also  needed  in  the  case  of 
many  of  the  playground  disputes. 

In  fine,  it  is  not  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  genuine 
play  that  it  should  be  supervised.  The  children  prefer 
that  it  thus  he.  They  find  that  they  have  better  times 
under  a  play  director.  There  is,  in  fact,  no  more 
reason  for  failing  to  supervise  play  than  for  leaving 
the  child's  intellectual  development  to  take  care  of 
itself.  If  play-life  in  the  modern  community  is  to 
minister  in  a  large  way  toward  the  realization  of 
the  social  ideal  it  must  be  sympathetically  studied  and 
guided  by  older  heads  than  the  children's. 

Democratic  Influence  of  Playground. — Another  posi- 
tive social  value  of  the  playground  lies  in  the  effec- 
tiveness with  which  it  brings  together  on  a  common 
level  children  of  different  races  and  social  standards. 
We  are  familiar  with  the  idea  that  our  schools  are 
important  agencies  in  the  Americanization  of  the 
children  of  other  lands  coming  into  our  midst.  In 
the  schools  they  are  supposedly  brought  in  touch  with 
American  modes  of  thought  and  American  ideals.  Is 
it  not  likely  that  the  developed  playground  is  an  even 
more  effective  agency  toward  this  end  ?  Foreign  chil- 
dren will  learn  the  American  point  of  view  and  the 
English  tongue  much  more  quickly  through  playing 
with  native  children  than  through  any  of  the  formal 
instruction  of  the  school.  All  nations,  it  is  true,  are 
alike  in  their  need  for  play.  The  ideals  of  the  play- 
ground are  more  or  less  alike  the  world  over.  This 
common  human  need  and  this  common  mode  of  its 
finding  expression  furnish  a  basis  on  which  children 
of  all  nations  can  meet.  Surely  no  better  conditions 
than  those  furnished  by  play  could  be  desired  for 

ii8 


PLAY   AND   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

allaying  race  prejudice,  mitigating  social  differences, 
and  laying  the  foundations  for  an  appreciation  of  our 
common  humanity. 

We  can  hardly  hope  that  the  American  society  of 
to-morrow  will  be  identical  with  that  of  yesterday. 
Foreign  blood  is  coming  to  us  too  rapidly  to  be  com- 
pletely transformed  to  the  American  type.  We  are 
inevitably  being  modified  ourselves.  But  this  does 
not  mean  that  the  nation  of  the  future  must  needs  be 
of  any  lower  grade  than  the  original  American  people, 
provided  the  best  in  all  these  diverse  elements  can  be 
fused  into  a  unified  whole.  The  danger  rests  in  class 
conflict,  in  lack  of  sympathy  and  of  understanding, 
in  the  persistence  within  our  gates  of  unlike  and  hos- 
tile elements.  The  opportunities  afforded  by  organ- 
ized and  supervised  recreation  for  accomplishing  this 
unification  are  certainly  very  great. 

We  have  referred  to  the  playground  as  a  preven- 
tive of  crime.  It  is  significant  that  the  prisons  and 
reformatories  are  largely  filled  by  persons  between 
sixteen  and  twenty-five  years  of  age,  the  period  of 
life  when  the  play-impulse  is  still  strong  and  when 
the  demand  for  some  sort  of  recreation  is  most  insis- 
tent. Students  of  social  problems  are  convinced  that 
much  criminality  in  these  years  is  simply  the  perv^erted 
expression  of  energy,  of  the  love  of  activity,  and  of 
adventure,  in  a  word,  of  the  play-spirit. 

The  Experience  of  Pittsburgh. — Few  cities,  probably, 
have  encountered  more  difficulties  in  the  development 
^of  organized  play  than  Pittsburgh,  and  yet  the  ex- 

irience  of  the  Playground  Association  of  that  city 
ihould  be  an  inspiration  to  educators  everywhere  who 

jlieve  in  the  social  value  of  play.     There  were  no 

119 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

yards  in  many  districts,  and  the  children  did  not  know 
how  to  play,  or  seem  to  care  for  it.  They  were  spirit- 
ually starved.  Child  labor  prevailed.  The  relaxation 
of  the  boys  was  in  tough  predatory  gangs,  which  often 
terrorized  whole  neighborhoods.  A  little  girl's  high- 
est ideal  was  to  be  able  to  ride  in  the  patrol  wagon  as 
she  had  seen  her  mother  and  father  do  many  times. 

The  playgrounds,  once  organized  in  these  locali- 
ties, have  furnished  the  entering  wedge  for  many  lines 
of  social  betterment.  In  addition  to  the  play  there 
have  been  organized  classes  in  various  sorts  of  hand- 
work, music  and  art.  Dancing  and  rhythmic  gymnas- 
tics have  received  much  attention  that  the  children 
might  learn  better  control  of  hands  and  feet.  In 
the  summer  there  are  weekly  flower  days,  when  great 
baskets  of  flowers  sent  to  the  city  from  the  surround- 
ing country  are  distributed  to  the  children  *'from  the 
tiniest  babies  to  the  roughest  boys". 

There  are  lessons  in  cooking  and  dietetics  for  the 
girls.  The  child-labor  evil  has  been  mitigated,  for 
some  children  had  been  put  to  work  to  keep  them  off 
the  streets.  "Little  Michel  Strozzi's  father  had  put 
him  in  the  glassworks  for  the  summer,  but  he  sent 
him  to  the  vacation  school  (and  playground)  more 
than  a  mile  away,  where  the  child,  small  and  delicate 
for  his  age,  ran  and  jumped  and  built  pyramids  with 
other  boys,  handled  tool^  made  toys,  and  played  with 
an  earnestness  which  expanded  his  lungs,  straightened 
his  back,  and  steadied  his  active  little  brain  for  an- 
other year  of  effective  study.  The  gang  has  been 
tamed.  The  West  End  Gang,  whose  ideals  had  been 
confined  to  baseball  and  pugilism,  became  enthusiastic 
carpenters.     Their  devotion  to  the  fine,  clean,  young 

120 


PLAY    AND    SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

fellow  who  was  their  instructor  was  pathetic.  They 
followed  him  around.  In  order  to  cure  the  sneak 
thieving  he  would  leave  all  the  material  out  on  the 
ball  field  and  go  away  without  making  any  boy  re- 
sponsible for  it.  The  next  morning  every  bat  and 
ball  and  glove  would  be  returned." 

As  Jane  Addams  says:  "Much  vice  is  merely  a 
love  for  pleasure."  We  cannot  imagine  a  boy  who 
by  walking  three  blocks  can  secure  for  himself  the 
delicious  sensation  to  be  found  in  a  swimming  pool 
preferring  to  play  craps  in  a  foul  and  stuffy  alley, 
even  with  the  natural  excitement  which  gambling  of- 
fers." *  We  continually  forget  that  amusement  is 
stronger  than  vice,  and  that  it  alone  can  stifle  the  lust 
for  it. 

"Every  city  in  the  United  States  spends  a  hundred- 
fold more  money  for  juvenile  reform  than  is  spent  in 
providing  means  for  public  recreation."  f 

The  Chicago  Playgrounds. — The  experience  of  Chi- 
cago with  its  playgrounds  points  to  the  truth  of  the 
above  statements.  They  furnish  a  healthful  outlet  to 
youthful  spirits,  and  have  noticeably  diminished  juve- 
nile delinquency  in  the  areas  which  they  reach.  The 
difficulty  is  that,  notwithstanding  the  expenditure  of 
vast  sums  for  these  playgrounds,  they  are  even  yet 
only  spots,  and  great  districts  are  as  yet  entirely  un- 

I touched.  These  playless  districts  are  the  present  hot- 
beds of  juvenile  crime.  One  worker  says  truly:  "I 
think  it  would  be  difiicult  to  find  any  point  at  which, 
in  our  largest  cities,  a  dollar  will  go  further  in  the 
making  of   these   things    for   which   the   city   exists 


*  The  Spirit  of  Youth  and  the  City  Streets. 
t  Ibid. 


I2X 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

than  in  the  provision  and  maintenance  of  play- 
grounds." 

Summary  and  Conclusion. — Taking  into  account  all 
these  values  of  play,  we  may  well  say  of  playground 
expenditure  that  it  is  a  method  of  social  insurance 
that  no  nation  which  seeks  to  attain  the  ideal  of  social 
efficiency  can  afford  to  neglect.  Whether  these  ave- 
nues of  recreation  are  administered  by  the  city  di- 
rectly, or  by  the  machinery  of  the  public  schools,  or 
even  by  private  enterprise,  they  must  be  regarded  as 
belonging  to  public  education  in  the  larger  sense,  be- 
cause they  embody  many  of  those  agencies  which 
operate  to  produce  a  healthful  and  efficient  manhood 
and  womanhood. 

As  Dr.  Gulick  well  says:  "Not  only  must  munici- 
palities and  philanthropic  associations  coordinate  their 
efforts  in  some  harmonious,  comprehensive  scheme, 
but  the  whole  plan  must  be  administered  by  experts 
with  definite  goals  in  view.  It  is  not  enough  to  give 
everybody  the  chance  to  play.  We  must  also  direct 
that  play  to  specific  and  attractive  ends.  The  ten- 
dency of  recreation  to  be  warped  from  its  legitimate 
purpose  when  left  to  private  adventure  is  well  illus- 
trated in  the  development  of  baseball.  Our  national 
game  has  produced  spectators  in  a  number  far  out  of 
reasonable  proportion  to  the  number  of  players.  If 
our  boys  are  going  to  learn  team  play;  if  they  are 
going  to  acquire  the  habit  of  subordinating  selfish  to 
group  interests,  they  must  learn  these  things  through 
experience  and  not  from  books  or  the  'bleachers' 
maintained  by  professional  baseball.  Such  moral  de- 
velopment comes  only  through  activities  which  are 
pursued  with  spontaneous  and  passionate  enthusiasm." 

122 


L 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE    SOCIAL    BASIS    OF    SCHOOL    INCENTIVES 

Effort  Proportional  to  Incentive Count  Tolstoy,  in 

his  great  study  of  human  Hfe  and  motive,  War  and 
Peace,  pauses  in  the  account  of  Napoleon's  disastrous 
retreat  from  Russia  to  raise  the  question  as  to  what 
determines  the  efficiency  of  an  army.  The  French 
were  well  organized  and  armed,  and  yet  they  melted 
away  before  the  desultory,  unorganized  attacks  of  the 
poorly  equipped  and  ungeneraled  Russians.  Some  mil- 
itary authorities,  he  says,  insist  that  efficiency  depends 
upon  the  leaders,  others  upon  the  organization,  and 
others  upon  the  armaments.  But,  according  to  these 
standards,  the  French  should  have  succeeded  instead 
of  being  ignominiously  defeated.  No,  the  effective- 
ness of  an  army  depends  on  all  of  these  accessories 
multiplied  by  an  indeterminate  "X"  which,  says  Tol- 
stoy, is  the  desire  to  fight.  The  Russians  were  eager 
to  fight,  the  French  were  tired  of  it. 

We  have,  in  this  comment  of  the  great  novelist 
and  philosopher,  a  recognition  of  far-reaching  im- 
portance of  impelling  motives  for  all  human  endeavor. 
All  people,  young  or  old,  if  they  work  efficiently  and 
with  telling  result  must  have  some  incentive.  Few 
of  us  accomplish  as  much  as  we  might  with  the  ma- 
terials in  our  hands  and  the  knowledge  we  possess 
because  of  a  lack  of  adequate  driving  motives.     We 

123 


EDUCATION   FOR    SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

may  see  many  things  we  might  well  do,  but  the  keen 
desire,  the  eager  feeling  that  it  is  worth  while,  does 
not  seize  us,  and  we  work  along  in  a  perfunctory 
manner  and  with  a  low  degree  of  efficiency.  What 
is  true  of  us  in  our  adult  occupations  is  true  in  a  very 
vital  sense  of  children  in  their  school  life.  Dr. 
Reeder,  in  his  suggestive  book,  How  Two  Htmdred 
Children  Live  and  Learn,  says :  "When  I  have  at- 
tempted to  attain  certain  definite  results  with  children 
and  failed  I  have  rarely  found  the  chief  cause  of  fail- 
ure to  lie  in  the  children.  It  generally  means  that 
the  motive  for  effort  or  Attainment  has  not  been 
adequate.  The  good  was  too  remote,  appreciation  of 
its  value  too  slight,  or  there  was  lack  of  personal 
touch  and  inspiration,  so  that  whatever  was  necessary 
to  energize  the  full  capacity  of  the  child  was  want- 
ing." 

Incentive  Essential  in  School. — Every  teacher  of 
boys  and  girls  must  have  felt  at  times  the  truth  of  Dr. 
Reeder 's  statement.  The  lack  of  a  suitable  incentive 
is  surely  one  of  the  main  obstacles  to  good  school 
work.  W^hatever  the  aim  of  the  teacher,  whether  to 
train  the  individual  child  to  be  capable  for  himself 
alone,  or  to  be  a  useful  member  of  society,  that  aim 
will  be  best  accomplished  if  the  child,  like  the  Rus- 
sian soldiers,  is  eager  to  do  the  tasks  set  before  him. 

Indeed  the  problem  of  adequate  motivation  is  as 
fundamental  and  as  far-reaching  in  every  phase  of 
the  educational  enterprise  as  it  is  for  the  larger  rela- 
tions of  life  which  occupy  the  attention  of  men  and 
women.  It  is  constantly  appearing  in  one  form  or 
another  in  the  daily  routine  of  the  school.  Our  par- 
ticular interest  in  that  problem  is  due  to  the  fact  that 

124 


BASIS   OF   SCHOOL   INCENTIVES 

it  is  essentially  a  social  one.  The  keenest  incentives 
to  work  at  one's  best  one  gains  through  social  rela- 
tionships. An  education  guided  by  the  social  ideal 
thus  possesses  unusually  fine  opportunities  for  devel- 
oping in  children  the  most  genuine  and  lasting  motives 
for  a  full  measure  of  individual  efficiency. 

Strength  of  Social  Motive. — Dr.  Reeder  gives  a  fine 
illustration  of  the  strength  and  value  of  the  social 
motive.  In  the  orphanage  at  Hastings-on-the-Hudson 
the  children  are  grouped  in  cottages  and  perform  for 
themselves  much  of  the  work  incident  to  household 
life.  The  reckless  breaking  of  dishes  had  proved  a 
serious  problem  in  the  cottage  economy.  Neither  ad- 
monitions nor  fines  imposed  on  the  careless  seemed 
to  avail  much  in  lessening  the  waste.  Money  was 
not  an  important  item  in  the  lives  of  these  children, 
and  fines,  therefore,  did  not  arouse  them  to  greater 
care  in  handling  the  china.  Finally  the  rule  was 
made  that  if  more  than  two  pieces  a  week  were  broken 
in  a  cottage  the  excess  was  to  be  replaced  by  plain 
agate  ware.  This  rule  substituted  a  social  motive  for 
carefulness  for  the  ineffective  individual  one.  The 
effect  of  this  rule  was  to  reduce  breakage  to  less  than 
one  piece  a  week.  The  pride  of  the  cottages  was  at 
stake.  If  a  child  bungled  in  his  work,  he  did  not 
suffer  alone,  but  all  his  mates  suffered  with  him;  the 
breaking  of  a  piece  of  china  was  no  longer  "an  in- 
dividual mishap;  it  was  a  social  offense.  The  sad 
consequences  of  his  deed  were  brought  home  to  him 
by  many  others,  who  felt  that  it  was  a  disgrace  to 
be  obliged  to  spread  their  table  with  agate  ware."  * 

*  How  Two  Hundred  Children  Live  and  Learn,  pp.  184-87. 
125 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

Motivation  Strengthened  Through  Community  Rela- 
tionships.— A  school  which  is  definitely  adjusted  to 
community  needs  has  gone  a  long  way  toward  solv- 
ing the  problem  of  motivation.  Recent  attempts  to 
improve  rural  education,  described  in  preceding  chap- 
ters, certainly  function  in  this  direction.  Every  step 
toward  bringing  the  home  into  closer  touch  with  the 
school,  through  associations  of  parents  and  teachers, 
is  also  most  helpful.  Children  work  better  when  they 
feel  that  older  people  outside  the  school  are  vitally 
interested  in  them  and  in  their  progress.  The  social 
stimulus,  whether  it  develops  in  the  inner  life  of 
the  school,  or  comes  from  outer  sources,  is  produc- 
tive of  far  better  results  than  any  artificial  induce- 
ment to  work.  Indeed  a  real  social  efficiency  will  be 
attained  largely  through  the  rich  motivation  that 
comes  to  boys  and  girls  by  their  participating  in  nor- 
mal social  relationships. 

From  this  general  statement  of  the  point  of  view 
we  may  turn  our  attention  to  a  brief  review  of  the 
present  school  situation  with  reference  to  motivation. 
The  object  will  be  to  consider  why  the  problem  is  to- 
day a  particularly  important  one;  what  prevailing  at- 
titudes in  educational  theory  and  practice  have  been 
responsible  for  the  school's  deficiency  in  this  regard 
and  to  suggest  a  possible  change  of  emphasis  which 
may  secure  more  thoroughly  motivated  work. 

Problem  Only  Recently  Developed. — Only  in  com- 
paratively recent  times  has  the  need  for  a  more  care- 
ful study  of  school  incentives  made  itself  felt.  Its 
appearance  is  indeed  one  of  the  incidents  of  the  ad- 
vance in  the  scope  and  complexity  of  modern  educa- 
tion.     Outside   the   school,    in    "real   life",   there   is 

126 


BASIS   OF   SCHOOL   INCENTIVES 

usually  plenty  of  incentive  for  normally  minded  boys 
and  girls  and  men  and  women.  There  it  takes  care 
of  itself  and  seldom  has  to  be  made  an  object  of  care- 
ful planning. 

Within  the  school,  however,  the  situation  is  dif- 
ferent. Here  the  pupil  is  required  to  spend  a  large 
part  of  his  best  working  hours  in  a  somewhat  arti- 
ficial environment,  an  environment  good  on  the  whole, 
but  yet  lacking  in  many  of  the  elements  that  make 
the  outer  world  attractive.  In  pioneer  times  this  did 
not  matter  very  much,  because  the  school  exacted 
little  of  the  pupil's  time  and  energy.  Its  inadequacies 
were  concealed  by  a  simpler  and  more  immediate  so- 
cial life,  in  which  (he  pupil  found  his  enthusiasms, 
and  came  to  a  consciousness  of  worthy  life-purposes. 
The  dominating  theory  of  this  old-time  school  was 
the  receptivity  of  the  child.  He  was  naively  regarded 
as  a  lump  of  plastic  clay  to  be  shaped,  or  as  an 
empty  vessel  to  be  filled.  As  a  present-day  educator, 
voicing  the  simple  view  of  the  old  education,  re- 
cently said:  "The  only  thing  for  the  pupil  to  do  is 
to  keep  the  neck  of  his  flask  open  while  the  teacher 
fills  it." 

We  could  endure  such  an  educational  theory  as  this 
as  long  as  it  did  not  make  itself  too  obtrusive.  It 
was  when  the  educational  enterprise  was  enormously 
enlarged,  when  it  made  vast  and  ever-increasing  de- 
mands upon  the  time  of  the  children  and  the  resources 
of  adult  society  that  the  deadening  effect  of  this  doc- 
trine, its  total  inadequacy  as  a  means  of  securing  a 
real  education  became  generally  apparent.  The  more 
time  and  money  are  spent  for  education,  the  more 
critical  does  the  public  become  of  the  results,  the  more 

127 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

does  it  insist  that  some  adequate  and  tangible  returns 
be  shown  for  the  investment. 

Failure  of  Compulsory  School  Attendance  Laws. — The 
blind  faith  that  compulsory  school-attendance  laws 
can  secure  to  every  child  the  elements  of  an  educa- 
tion has  received  a  rude  shock  in  the  recent  revela- 
tions of  the  extent  of  retardation  among  public  school 
pupils.  It  has  been  found  that  more  than  fifty  per 
cent,  of  our  children  are  seriously  behind  their 
proper  grades,  and  that,  in  the  later  years  of  the  ele- 
mentary and  grammar  school,  children  are  dropping 
out  at  an  alarmingly  rapid  rate.  Retardation  of  pu- 
pils, together  with  rapid  elimination  as  the  upper 
limit  of  compulsory  school  attendance  is  reached, 
means  that  only  comparatively  few  of  our  boys  and 
girls  get  even  a  useful  elementary  education. 

Not  Due  to  Inability  of  Children. — We  are  loath  to 
believe  that  the  inability  of  our  expensive  public 
school  system  to  reach  the  children  is  due  to  their 
mental  incapacity,  and  yet,  somehow,  they  do  not  re- 
spond properly  to  our  studied  efforts  to  train  them. 
We  know  too  well  the  apathy  and  indifference  shown 
by  many  of  them,  the  perfunctory  attention  that  they 
give  to  the  lessons  and  tasks  which  we  daily  require 
of  them.  We  know  that,  although  they  may  work 
hard,  most  of  them  do  not  work  as  hard  as  they 
might.  The  hard  work  in  the  school  does  not  com- 
pare very  favorably  with  the  capacity  for  hard  work 
these  same  pupils  show  in  their  sports,  on  the  ball- 
ground,  or  in  other  outside  activities.  To  come  at 
once  to  the  point,  this  difference  is  due  to  a  lack  of 
adequate  incentive  in  the  school,  to  a  deficiency  in 
inner  driving  force  in  the  pupil.     The  work  is  half- 

128 


► 


BASIS   OF   SCHOOL   INCENTIVES 

hearted  and  therefore  naturally  barren  of  much  per- 
manent value. 

But  to  Lack  of  Incentive. — The  real  secret,  then,  of 
much  of  the  retardation  and  elimination  in  the  grades 
and  of  the  ineffectiveness  of  the  modern  school,  in 
general,  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  development  of  the 
machinery  of  instruction  has  not  been  accompanied 
by  a  corresponding  development  in  the  pupil  of  the 
proper  motives  for  work. 

As  a  recent  writer  says :  "We  take  boys  and  girls 
at  a  time  when  their  impulses  are  strong  for  active 
participation  in  the  vital  interests  of  life,  and  we 
confine  them  within  narrow  school-room  cells,  with 
books  and  pencils  as  a  chief  and  sole  means  of  em- 
ployment; we  take  them  when  their  desire  for  social 
cooperation  is  a  dominant  motive,  and  we  require  each 
to  work  for  himself  upon  tasks,  which,  so  far  as  we 
can  see,  have  little  to  do  with  the  great  world  out- 
side the  school  walls;  we  take  them  when  their  indi- 
vidual diflFerences  in  capacity,  interests,  and  prospec- 
tive careers  are  matters  of  growing  and  vital  con- 
cern, and  we  require  them  to  pursue  a  uniform  course 
of  study  having  little  direct  relation  to  these  specific 
powers,  motives,  and  prospects."  However  unsafe  it 
may  be  to  make  unqualified  statements  regarding  the 
resulting  retardation  and  elimination,  we  are  at  least 
forced  to  the  conclusion  "that  our  present  methods  are 
failing  with  half  the  children  confided  to  the  care  of 
the  public  schools.'*  "The  schools  have  not  only  failed 
to  awaken  in  large  numbers  of  their  pupils  an  interest 
in  study,  but  have  engendered  a  distaste  for  work  of 
any  kind,  particularly  manual  work."  * 

*  Quoted  by  Leavitt,  Examples  of  Industrial  Education, 

129 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

A  Narrow  Educational  Theory  Responsible.^ — As  we 
pass  on  it  may  be  worth  while  to  see  how  underneath 
this  failure  there  has  persisted  a  narrow,  mechanical 
conception  of  education.  The  digression  is  justifi- 
able, for  what  is  needed  at  the  present  time  is  not 
merely  a  reform  in  practice,  but  a  complete  recon- 
struction of  educational  theory.  The  old  conception 
of  mental'  action  was  mechanical.  As  economic  sci- 
ence had  hypostatized  the  fiction  of  an  ''economic 
man"  who  would  automatically  go  where  he  could  get 
the  highest  wages,  who  would  sell  to  the  highest  mar- 
ket and  buy  in  the  cheapest,  without  regard  for  count- 
less subtle  social  and  ethical  ties,  and  without  regard  to 
the  inertia  of  habit  and  of  social  custom,  so  the  school- 
man imagined  a  theoretical  pupil  on  whose  organs  of 
sense  the  environment  made  divers  impressions,  im- 
pressions which  were  stored  up  and  associated  and 
reproduced  according  to  the  mechanical  laws  of  asso- 
ciation. Thus,  the  teacher  was  told  that  if  he  wanted 
to  get  a  certain  response  from  a  certain  stimulus  he 
must  put  the  stimulus  and  the  desired  response  to- 
gether. If  one  idea  was  to  call  up  another  idea,  the 
two  must  be  put  together  in  the  pupil's  mind.  In  both 
cases,  if  necessary,  there  should  be  a  little  pleasure  to 
serve  as  a  cement.  Let  him  make  desirable  connec- 
tions pleasant  and  undesirable  connections  unpleasant ; 
that  was  all  there  was  to  it.*  He  was  told,  in  season 
and  out  of  season,  to  proceed  from  the  simple  to  the 
complex,  from  the  concrete  to  the  abstract,  and  above 
all  to  connect  the  new  thing  to  be  taught  with  the 
pupil's  past  experience  according  to  the  law  of  apper- 
ception. 

*Cf.  Thorndike's  Principles  of  Teaching,  pp.  no,  in. 

130 


BASIS   OF   SCHOOL   INCENTIVES 

Yet,  in  spite  of  this  fine  and  theoretically  perfect 
conception  of  how  learning  should  take  place,  the 
pupil  did  not  always  learn  what  he  was  supposed  to 
learn.  He  did  not  remember  things  in  their  right 
connections,  nor  did  he  do  the  things  he  was  sup- 
posed to  do  when  the  appropriate  and  neatly  worked 
out  stimulus  was  made  to  affect  him,  even  though 
the  teacher  put  the  things  together  that  belonged  to- 
gether. The  pupil  might  even,  as  a  high  school  boy 
actually  did,  in  response  to  the  question,  "Locate 
Athens  and  Sparta",  write  that  they  were  situated  on 
the   Tigris   River,  spelling  the  river  ^Tigress". 

If  the  pupil  was  seen  to  be  apathetic,  or  mischiev- 
ous, it  was  because  he  lacked  interest  in  his  work; 
therefore,  the  teacher  said,  "Let  us  go  to  and  interest 
him".  This  was  a  suggestion  in  the  right  direc- 
tion, but  it  was  at  first  conceived  merely  as  a  sort  of 
external  application  that  would,  in  some  magical  way, 
oil  up  the  machinery  of  the  child's  mind  and  make  it 
work  more  freely. 

The  fundamental  fallacy  of  this  earlier  pedagogy 
was  that  it  never  took  into  account  the  real,  living, 
throbbing  personality  of  the  pupil.  It  was  so  absorbed 
in  the  laws  of  association  and  in  the  problems  of  con- 
necting new  experience  with  old  experience  that  it 
failed  to  see  that  the  desire  or  purpose  of  the  child 
could  have  anything  to  do  with  eMcient  learning.  We 
are  beginning  to  realize  that,  while  the  mechanics  of 
learning  are  in  a  measure  true,  they  have  meaning 
only  in  connection  with,  and  as  subordinate  to,  the 
motive  and  purpose  of  the  learner.  The  child  is, 
first  of  all,  a  personality,  and  the  essence  of  person- 
ality is  purpose,  intent,  motive.     Narrow  and  limited 

131 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

though  this  motive  may  be,  it  is  the  real  starting  point 
of  teaching  and  the  real  basis  of  effective  learning. 

A  Suggestion  for  Child-study. — From  this  point  of 
view  we  may  remark  that  the  most  instructive  and 
valuable  child-study  is  that  which  unites  with  the  in- 
vestigation of  the  contents  of  the  child-mind  and 
child-modes  of  behavior,  the  deeper  and  far  more  sig- 
nificant question  of  the  development  of  his  purposes, 
the  unfolding  consciousness  of  the  things  he  would 
like  to  do.  The  contents  of  his  mind  are  interesting 
and  curiously  fragmentary,  but  it  matters  far  more 
for  the  teacher  to  know  what  the  pupil  would  like 
to  do,  what  capacity  he  has  for  projecting  himself 
into  the  world.  A  child-character  with  plenty  of  this 
driving  power,  this  eagerness  to  know  and  to  do,  will 
soon  make  good  any  initial  deficiences  in  mere  mental 
contents.  Inadequacy  of  ideas,  for  example  the  no- 
tion that  a  cow  is  no  larger  than  one's  thumb,  be- 
cause that  happens  to  be  the  size  of  the  picture  the 
child  has  seen,  is  a  mere  incident  of  immaturity  and 
of  limited  experience.  Vastly  more  significant  than 
this  negative  fact  is  the  fact  that  the  child  may  pos- 
sess an  impulse  to  act,  to  work,  to  investigate,  to  dis- 
cover. This  eager,  purposive  attitude  lies  at  the  very 
core  of  real  apperception  of  new  experience  by  old. 
At  first  the  educational  theory  put  into  the  hands  of 
the  teacher  assumed  that  similar  experiences  had 
some  mysterious  affinity.  The  task  of  the  teacher 
was  to  arouse  the  old  related  idea  and  present  the  new 
one,  and,  presto!  they  would  be  as  one,  or  at  least 
they  ought  to  be,  all  disturbing  circumstances  ruled 
out. 

Basis  of  Interest. — Interest  was  conceived  as  a  re- 

132 


BASIS    OF   SCHOOL   INCENTIVES 

sultant  of  this  similarity.  To  arouse  interest,  stir  up 
first  the  old  related  idea.  We  are  now  beginning  to 
see  that  the  first  term  in  the  whole  process  is  the 
eagerness.  The  reaching  out  of  the  child  to  do  some- 
thing, the  desire  to  find  out,  is  primary,  and  assimila- 
tion of  the  new  experience  is  not  the  outcome  of  any 
fancied  similarity  between  the  newly  presented  con- 
tent and  the  previous  content  of  the  mind.  In  fact, 
the  most  cunningly  worked-out  similarities  may  be 
utterly  barren  of  results.  The  assimilation  of  a  new 
experience  largely  depends  on  whether  the  learner 
wants  the  new  experience  or  not;  whether  he  sees 
that  it  fits  into  his  purposes  or  not,  helps  him  to  do 
something  which  he  feels  to  be  worth  while. 

Motivated  Effort  Counts. — We  have,  then,  in  our 
pupils,  great  potentialities  of  energy,  but  to  plead  that 
this  energy  should  furnish  the  dynamic  force  for  all 
school  work  is  not  equivalent  to  advocating  that  it 
be  undirected  or  uncontrolled.  We  have  reached  the 
point  where  we  are  forced  to  recognize  the  absolute 
necessity  of  a  serious  and  scientific  study  of  incen- 
tives, as  well  as  of  methods  of  imparting  information. 
//  is  not  mere  work  which  counts,  or  mere  additions 
to  the  child's  store  of  knowledge,  which  a  real  edu- 
cation must  arrive  at.  A  development  of  vital  pur- 
poses, a  systematic  cultivation  of  motives  for  work 
and  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge — this  must  be 
the  guiding  principle  of  all  we  do.  **Mere  attendance 
upon  school,  the  mere  acquisition  of  knowledge,  does 
not  necessarily  result  in  the  development  of  intellec- 
tual power.  The  performance  of. daily  tasks  which 
are  perfunctory,  or  which  are  too  easy  for  the  intel- 
lectual ability  of  the  child,  may  produce  weariness 

133 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

without  stimulating  growth."  "Power  and  strength 
come  from  the  conservation  of  energy,  and  growth, 
after  all,  is  the  result  of  effort.  The  real  problem 
would  seem  to  be  to  help  the  child  to  select  the  proper 
objective  point  upon  which  to  direct  his  energy,  to 
stimulate  him  to  continued  effort,  to  the  end  that  his 
fullest  growth  may  be  insured."  * 

Objections  from  the  Practical  Teacher. — The  above 
proposition,  good  as  it  appears  in  theory,  will  seem 
to  the  average  teacher  as  altogether  impractical.  He 
will  insist  that  the  pupil's  own  purposes  are  flighty 
and  inadequate.  No  really  valuable  education,  it  will 
be  insisted,  can  be  built  upon  this  basis.  Will  such  a 
course  not  result  in  the  teacher's  being  led  about  by 
every  whim  and  fancy  of  the  pupil?  To  be  sure,  if 
"the  individual  child  is  merely  allowed  to  follow  his 
own  inclinations,  he  is  no  more  likely  to  develop  high 
efficiency  than  the  free  current  of  electricity,  the  bab- 
bling brook,  or  the  vapor  that  rises  from  the  simmer- 
ing teapot."  f  Much  that  must  be  taught  cannot  ap- 
peal to  him  now  as  a  part  of  anything  that  is  akin  to 
the  moving  power  within  himself.  The  best  that  can 
be  done  is  to  arouse  him  by  various  devices  to  a  tran- 
sitory interest  in  his  work. 

Irresponsibility  Not  a  Necessary  Characteristic  of 
Youth. — We  have  unfortunately  accustomed  our- 
selves to  the  idea  that  boys  and  girls  cannot  have  any 
wide-reaching,  permanent  interests  in  their  school 
work.  We  refer  to  the  irresponsibility  and  lack  of 
seriousness  of  even  the  high  school  pupils  as  neces- 

*  From  a  "Report  6f  the  Committee  on  School  Incentives," 
of  the  Brooklyn  (N.  Y.)  Teachers'  Association. 
■tlbid. 

134 


BASIS   OF   SCHOOL   INCENTIVES 

sary  incidents  of  growth,  as  a  condition  to  be  ex- 
pected and  to  be  made  the  best  of  in  what  way  we 
can.  We  try  to  devise  means  of  overcoming  it  tem- 
porarily; we  note  that  some  of  this  irresponsibility 
disappears  occasionally  in  certain  phases  of  the  school 
work,  or  under  the  influence  of  a  particularly  inspir- 
ing teacher;  but  these  occasions  are  so  fragmentary 
and  so  transitory  that  they  appear  to  be  mere  acci- 
dents; they  do  not  suggest  to  most  teachers  any  far- 
reaching,  scientific  principle  according  to  which  the 
entire  school-life  of  the  pupil  may  be  transformed 
and  infused  with  life. 

Due  to  Isolation  of  School. — The  crux  of  the  diffi- 
culty, as  we  have  already  suggested,  arises  out  of 
the  isolation  of  the  school  from  real  life.  And  for 
this  isolation  educators  are  not  alone  responsible.  It 
is  incidental  to  our  present  social  system,  and  it  will 
not  be  adequately  met  until  the  public,  as  well  as  the 
teachers,  begin  to  understand  that  a  really  effective 
child-training  cannot  be  expected  to  occur  on  the  nar- 
row basis  and  with  the  limited  means  at  present  pro- 
vided. 

It  is  not  strange  that  the  teacher  of  to-day  is  baf- 
fled by  the  proposition  that  he  base  his  work  more 
largely  upon  the  pupil's  own  initiative;  that  he  ulti- 
lize  more  largely  the  pupil's  own  motives  for  work. 
To  him  there  seems  no  alternative  between  imposed 
tasks,  on  the  one  hand,  tempered  perhaps  by  a  few 
transitory  interests,  and,  on  the  other,  giving  up  all 
cflort  at  training  and  letting  the  pupil  pursue  his  own 
sweet  will. 

The  object  of  entering  into  this  discussion  of  the 
question  of  incentives  is  not  to  suggest  devices  by 

135 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

which  adventitious  motives  may  be  introduced  into 
our  school-work,  schemes  by  which  we  may  tempo- 
rarily relieve  the  montony  and  the  ineffectiveness  of 
our  teaching,  while  we  continue  to  teach  essentially 
as  we  have  always  taught.  Our  purpose  is  rather  to 
develop  a  principle  according  to  which  the  whole  edu- 
cational procedure  may  be  gradually  transformed,  and 
for  bringing  about  this  transformation  there  are 
many  things  we  can  all  do,  but,  in  the  main,  these 
things  must  be  done  in  cooperation  with  an  enlight- 
ened public  intelligence. 

Basis  of  Motivation  Is  Social  Life. — 'The  general 
principle  is  that  the  work  of  the  school  and  its  life 
must  not  only  be  in  closer  touch  with  the  interests 
and  motives  of  life  outside  the  school,  but  also  that 
it  must  reproduce  within  itself  more  natural  and  vital 
social  conditions.  This  may  seem  like  a  platitude,  yet 
it  is  fundamentally  true. 

As  was  stated  in  the  first  of  this  chapter,  real  life, 
especially  social  life,  is  rich  in  incentives  for  all 
normal  people,  and  children,  as  well  as  adults,  are 
open  to  its  influence.  In  a  thoroughly  socialized 
school  the  problem  of  incentives  assumes  a  new  as- 
pect. It  does  not  cease  to  present  difficulties,  but 
the  difficulties  are  such  as  can  be  met  scientifically 
and  with  some  hope  of  lasting  results.  A  school 
which  is  established  upon  thorough-going  social  re- 
lations within  and  without  becomes  a  matrix  from 
which  all  desirable  incentives  for  the  best  work  will 
naturally  emerge. 

There  has  been,  in  recent  years,  an  increasing 
number  of  educational  experiments  which  have  grown 
directly  out  of  this  conception  of  the  basis  of  ade- 

136 


BASIS    OF    SCHOOL   INCENTIVES 

quate  motivation.  Unfortunately  they  are  as  yet  iso- 
lated and  fragmentary;  nevertheless,  they  are  gleams 
of  light  which  we  may  believe  presage  the  dawn  of 
a  new  day.  These  attempts  serve  to  impress  us, 
moreover,  with  the  very  great  complexity  of  the  mod- 
ern educational  problem.  To  secure  adequately  moti- 
vated school  work,  to  provide  incentives  which  will 
call  forth  the  best  energies  of  all  the  pupils,  is  a  prob- 
lem fully  as  many-sided  as  life  itself. 

Retrospect  and  Prospect. — To  bring  the  school  into 
closer  touch  with  life  involves,  then,  the  doing  of 
many  things.  The  content  of  the  curriculum  itself 
must  be  more  directly  based  on  the  prevailing  inter- 
ests, activities,  and  problems  of  living  civilized  com- 
munities. The  things  which  the  child  is  required  to 
learn  must  function  more  immediately  in  his  daily 
life.  The  activities  and  enterprises  of  the  adult  are 
not  remote  or  foreign  to  the  child.  When  he  is 
brought  face  to  face  with  them  his  enthusiasm  and 
interest  are  easily  aroused,  unless  he  has  been  de- 
bauched by  a  long  course  in  irresponsibility,  either  in 
school  or  in  an  abnormal  family  or  environment. 

In  the  chapters  which  follow  we  shall  take  up 
various  phases  of  school  activity,  with  a  view  to  de- 
termining how  they  may  be  more  completely  social- 
ized. In  every  development  of  social  values  we  shall 
find  more  favorable  conditions  for  properly  moti- 
vated work  on  the  part  of  the  children,  whether  it  be 
in  the  healthier  social  life  of  the  school,  in  a  curricu- 
lum which  has  vital  connections  with  the  world  out- 
side, or  in  the  method  of  instruction  in  which  a  more 
definite  recognition  is  given  to  the  natural  stimulating 
influence  of  one  pupil  upon  another. 
10  137 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE   OPPORTUNITY   AFFORDED    BY    THE 
INTERNAL  LIFE   OF  THE   SCHOOL 

Education  and  Life  Cannot  Be  Divorced. — "Educa- 
tion is  not  preparation  for  life,  it  is  life,"  said  Pro- 
fessor Dewey,  in  his  ^'Educational  Creed".  It  is  be- 
cause of  their  conviction  that  this  is  true  that  many 
earnest  teachers  have,  in  recent  years,  given  more  and 
more  attention  to  the  general  social  life  of  their 
schools.  They  see  quite  clearly  that  preparation  for 
life  and  living  itself  cannot  be  separated.  The  best 
preparation  for  the  life  of  to-morrow  is  to  live  com- 
pletely to-day,  meeting  its  opportunities  to  the  fullest 
extent  of  one's  ability. 

This  recognition  that  education  is  life  itself  car- 
ries with  it  the  recognition  that  school  education  can- 
not confine  itself  to  the  training  of  the  pupil's  mind 
in  isolation  from  his  social  relationships.  It  must 
train  the  whole  child.  There  is  no  warrant  for  as- 
suming that  one  phase  of  child-nature  is  any  less  in 
need  of  training  than  other  aspects,  or,  specifically, 
that  a  child  needs  less  training  in  his  social  relations 
than  in  his  intellectual  processes. 

As  we  have  said,  one  of  the  popular  current  con- 
ceptions of  the  end  of  education  is  social  efficiency, 
and  yet,  with  most  teachers,  it  is  a  mere  verbalism, 
having  no  direct  relation  to  the  actual  work  of  the 

138 


\ 


INTERNAL   LIFE  OF   THE    SCHOOL 

school.  The  teacher  is  usually  content  to  think  that, 
if  he  trains  the  boy  in  the  ordinary  school  studies, 
he  is  training  him  to  be  an  efficient  member  of  society. 
The  penetrating  observer,  however,  sees  that  this  is 
not  the  case.  The  training  for  a  truly  socially  effi- 
cient manhood  or  womanhood  must  include,  at  every 
step  of  the  process,  the  whole  child  in  all  his  rela- 
tionships. 

Our  public  school  work  to-day  is  being  subjected 
to  a  rapid-fire  criticism  of  a  most  searching  order. 
Some  of  it  is  unintelligent  and  foolish,  but  some  of  it 
must  be  seriously  faced.  That  a  good  deal  of  school 
work  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  does  not  make 
for  vital  contact  with  the  child  and  with  the  youth,  as 
we  have  already  indicated,  is  fairly  evident.  How 
else  can  we  explain  the  fearful  waste  involved  in  re- 
tardation and  in  dropping  out  that  prevails  every- 
where. We  can  scarcely  say  that  all  our  over-age 
pupils,  or  those  who  drop  by  the  wayside,  are  of  in- 
ferior intelligence.  Some  of  them  are,  no  doubt,  but 
for  many,  the  work  of  the  school  is  so  abstract  and 
unrelated  to  the  interests  of  life  that  it  fails  to  grip 
them  in  any  impelling  way. 

School  a  Social  Institution. — To  meet  this  situation 
is  no  easy  matter.  No  one  patent  nostrum,  no  one 
royal  road  will  be  sufficient,  and  yet,  perhaps,  the 
most  far-reaching  remedy  is  to  appreciate  the  fact 
that  the  school  is  a  social  institution,  and  to  work  this 
out  consciously  and  systematically  in  our  practice. 
This  conception  of  the  school,  if  realized,  demands 
the  doing  of  many  things.  It  demands,  for  one  thing, 
a  curriculum  that  shall  more  definitely  prepare  for 
vocations,  and  that  shall,  as  a  whole,  appeal  to  chil- 

139 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

dren  as  helping  them  to  understand  and  act  intelli- 
gently in  the  great  world  outside  the  school's  walls. 
It  demands  also  the  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the 
boys  and  girls  within  the  school  have  a  social  as  well 
as  an  intellectual  nature.  The  first  one  of  these  de- 
mands we  shall  reserve  for  discussion  in  succeeding 
chapters.  The  latter  need,  the  recognition  of  the 
importance  of  the  general  social  life  of  the  pupils  in 
the  school,  we  shall  consider  here. 

Two  Reasons  for  Recognizing  This  Fact.  — The  syste- 
matic study  and  development  of  the  social  life  of  the 
school  is  necessary  for  two  reasons :  It  is  needed  to 
render  the  strictly  intellectual  training  more  interest- 
ing, more  vital,  and  more  effective.  Secondly,  it  is 
needed  because  all  boys  and  girls  are  quite  as  much 
in  need  of  training  in  proper  social  relationships  as 
in  intellectual  processes.  In  fact,  the  two  cannot  be 
separated.  In  all  normal  growth  both  phases  must 
be  concurrent;  each  one  will  supplement  the  other. 

All  School  Life  Social. — Every  school  has  a  social 
life  of  some  sort.  People  of  any  age,  and  especially 
of  the  high-school  age,  cannot  be  brought  together 
day  after  day  without  developing  manifold  social  re- 
lationships, without  influencing  each  other  in  all  sorts 
of  ways,  for  better  or  for  worse.  The  question  is 
whether  this  obvious  tendency  is  to  be  officially  rec- 
ognized and  used  as  an  educational  opportunity,  or 
whether  it  is  to  be  ignored  or  suppressed.  If  we  im- 
agine we  can  take  either  of  these  latter  courses,  we 
deceive  ourselves.  To  attempt  it  is  to  run  the  risk  of 
transforming  a  precious  educational  opportunity  into 
an  opportunity  for  almost  any  amount  of  harm  to  the 
youth. 

140 


L\TERNAL   LIFE   OF   THE   SCHOOL 

The  attitude  of  school  men  and  women  has  passed 
through  several  well-marked  stages.  First  there  was 
the  spontaneous,  uncontrolled  social  life  of  the  pupils, 
existing  but  ignored,  or  energetically  suppressed. 
Then  the  idea  came  that  these  social  activities  should 
he  controlled  so  that  they  might  not  interfere 
with  the  primary  and  legitimate  functions  of  the 
school.  They  were  looked  upon  as  evils,  but  as  neces- 
sary evils  to  be  curbed.  This  is  about  as  far  as  most 
school  administrators  have  gone.  In  some  quarters, 
however,  the  conviction  is  assuming  definite  shape 
that  this  social  life  must  not  only  be  controlled,  but 
also  that  it  is  part  of  the  function  of  public  education 
to  develop  it,  and  make  it  a  positive,  uplifting  force 
in  the  work  of  educating  boys  and  girls. 

Social  Tendencies  of  Children  Spontaneous. — Let  us 
first  of  all  try  to  get  a  clear  conception  of  the  nature 
and  character- forming  influence  of  the  spontaneous 
social  tendencies  of  children.  We  must  carefully  de- 
fine our  problem.  We  do  not  here  have  in  mind  the 
obvious  and  important  fact  that  every  child  is  from 
birth  surrounded  by  people  and  that  the  whole  course 
of  his  mental  development  is  determined  by  his  hu- 
man associations.  This  sort  of  social  influence  exists 
for  all  ages  and  circumstances  of  life,  for  little  chil- 
dren, as  well  as  for  older  ones.  We  have  in  mind, 
rather,  the  sociable,  group-forming  tendencies  which 
are  not  apparent  in  the  earlier  years,  but  which  gradu- 
ally and  quite  spontaneously  appear,  and  become  more 
and  more  marked  as  childhood  turns  into  youth. 

Early  Evidences. — Children,  before  the  school  age 
and  in  their  first  years  in  the  elementary  grades,  show 
little  of  the  group  spirit.     They  play  together,  it  is 

141 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

true,  and  work  together,  and  are  subject  to  all  sorts 
of  mutual  influences,  but,  as  far  as  social  spirit  is  con- 
cerned, they  are  little  individuals.  In  the  play  each 
one  looks  out  for  himself.  In  their  school  work  they 
sit  side  by  side  in  classes  and  yet  are  concerned  only 
with  individual  attainment.  A  low  form  of  group  life 
does  appear  in  the  elementary  school,  and  it  may  be 
regarded  as  the  beginning  of  the  more  social  rela- 
tions of  later  years.  This  is  little  more  than  a  primi- 
tive mob  spirit.  Occasions  of  excitement  or  of  dan- 
ger may  transform  a  roomful  of  little  children  into 
an  unreasoning  and  uncontrollable  mob. 

Gradually,  also,  the  sense  of  being  a  part  of  a 
school  dawns  upon  the  child.  For  instance,  a  school 
exhibition  or  entertainment  is  arranged  and  each  pupil 
feels  that  it  is  a  collective  undertaking  and  takes 
pride  in  the  impression  made  by  his  room  or  by  his 
school.  The  individual  pupil  feels  more  and  more 
keenly  what  his  classmates  say  and  think  about  him. 
He  wants  to  do  as  the  rest  do.  He  tries  to  use  the 
same  language  as  his  playmates.  He  has  a  keen  con- 
sciousness of  trying  not  to  be  different  from  them. 
He  is  careful  not  to  don  an  overcoat  sooner  than  the 
other  boys  do.  If  he  is  compelled  by  his  parents  to 
use  mittens  before  the  proper  time,  he  will  carefully 
conceal  them  before  he  comes  near  the  school 
grounds.  In  his  earlier  years  he  never  thought  of 
such  things,  nor  did  any  of  his  companions.  At  first, 
moreover,  he  was  glad  to  have  his  father  or  mother 
visit  his  school,  but,  by  the  time  he  is  nine  or  ten,  he  is 
plainly  embarrassed  if  they  should  appear  in  his  room, 
simply  because  it  is  not  common  for  parents  to 
visit  the  school,  and  the  other  children  will  smile  at 

142 


I 


INTERNAL   LIFE  OF  THE   SCHOOL 

him,  or  make  trifling  remarks  about  his  own  depend- 
ence on  his  parents.  This  early  self-consciousness 
marks  the  dawning  of  his  social  consciousness.  A 
school  atmosphere,  a  school  sentiment,  gradually 
grows  up  in  his  mind  and  shapes  his  whole  behavior. 
In  spite  of  its  crudity  it  develops  into  a  very  definite 
sense  of  loyalty  to  his  companions  or  to  his  school. 

Clubs,  Team  Games,  and  Gangs. — In  these  years  of 
nine  and  ten,  little  playground  groups  tend  to  spring 
up  quite  of  their  own  accord.  Group  games  and  rudi- 
mentary team  games  begin  to  be  played.  Both  boys 
and  girls  begin  to  find  that  there  are  things  they  are 
interested  in  in  common,  and  they  tend  to  associate  or 
"chum  together"  more  and  more.  This  group-form- 
ing instinct  soon  begins  to  show  itself  away  from  the 
school  grounds  among  boys  in  the  development  of 
gangs.  The  gang  is  often  little  more  than  the  fortui- 
tous grouping  of  boys  who  live  in  the  same  neigh- 
borhood or  upon  the  same  city  block;  those  who,  in 
other  words,  are  constantly  thrown  together  in  work 
and  play.  Through  this  daily  contact  a  definite  esprit 
de  corps  grows  up,  a  sense  of  social  solidarity,  of 
tremendous  power  in  impelling  its  members  to  stand 
together.  The  gang  possesses  a  group  courage  and 
daring  for  all  sorts  of  enterprises,  good  and  bad, 
which  no  boy  would  undertake  by  himself. 

Basic  Significance  of  Rudimentary  Social  Groups. 
— These  early  groupings  are  but  the  foreshadowings 
of  those  elementary  forms  of  social  life  which  lie  at 
the  basis  of  all  human  society.  They  have  been  aptly 
called  "primary  groups",  and  may  be  most  readily 
illustrated  by  the  associations  involved  in  the  family, 
the  neighborhood,  the  playground,  and  all  sorts  of  so- 

143 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

cial  and  fraternal  and  religious  organizations.  These 
are  the  units  out  of  which  is  built  the  larger  whole 
of  society.  They  are  primary,  as  Cooley  says,  *  be- 
cause they  are  essentially  the  same  the  world  over, 
notwithstanding  differences  in  race,  nationality,  or  in 
form  of  government.  They  are  also  primary  because 
they  are  the  "nurseries  of  human  nature";  they  fur- 
nish the  conditions  in  which  the  child  gets  his  first  ex- 
periences of  human  nature,  in  which,  in  fact,  his  own 
human  nature  is  first  formed  and  built  up.  They  are 
not  by  any  means  ideal  in  all  respects,  but  they  come 
nearer  to  being  ideal  than  any  of  the  larger  and  more 
loosely  knit  social  groups,  such  as  cities,  states,  or 
nations.  The  intimate,  face-to- face  association,  which 
necessarily  exists  within  these  little  groups,  gives  the 
child  his  first  experience  in  social  unity  or  ''oneness" 
with  his  fellows. 

Still  following  Cooky's  admirable  discussion  we 
may  say  that  this  sense  is  the  mother  of  all  social 
and  hence  of  all  human  virtues,  for  social  solidarity 
can  exist  only  as  it  is  supported  by  a  certain  sense  of 
loyalty,  a  certain  regard  for  lawfulness,  and  a  due 
respect  for  individual  freedom.  To  be  loyal  to  one's 
group  means  that  a  man  must  be  truthful  to  his  fel- 
lows; he  must  be  ready  to  serve  them,  even  against 
his  own  individual  interest,  nor  can  he  be  loyal  to  his 
group  except  as  he  experiences  more  or  less  kindly 
regard  for  its  other  members.  These  are  fundamental 
human  virtues  which  one  is  not  born  with  and  which 
one  cannot  acquire  except  through  fellowship  in  a 
"primary  group". 

We  need  not  pause  here  to  give  illustrations  of  the 

*  Sociol  Organisation. 

J44 


INTERNAL   LIFE  OF  THE   SCHOOL 

reality  of  primary  group  virtues.  Every  family,  if  it 
is  in  truth  a  family,  every  neighborhood  and  play- 
ground will  furnish  evidence  to  him  who  takes  the 
pains  to  look.  No  boys'  or  girls'  club,  or  even  the 
worst  gang,  could  hold  together  for  a  moment  ex- 
cept as  its  members  have  some  sense  of  their  unity, 
some  regard  for  law,  for  fair  dealing,  for  kindliness 
among  themselves.  These  fine  qualities  within  the 
group  may  be  coupled  with  much  that  is  unlovely, 
especially  in  the  group's  treatment  of  those  who  are 
without  its  pale,  but  they  furnish  the  basis,  the  raw 
material,  for  all  possible  improvements  in  the  relations 
of  men  and  women,  whether  on  a  small  or  on  a  large 
scale. 

Relation  to  the  Social  Ideal. — When  we  reflect  that 
these  group-forming  tendencies  are  strong  in  children, 
especially  as  they  approach  the  high  school  age,  we 
can  see  what  an  immense  educational  opportunity  they 
can  afford  for  the  realization  of  the  ideal  of  social 
efficiency.  The  school  has  tended  to  deal  with  its 
children  as  individuals,  when  they  are  in  reality  social 
beings.  It  has  tried  to  train  them  as  individuals  in 
the  virtues  of  truthfulness,  justice,  loyalty,  fair-play, 
and  lawfulness.  As  abstract  statements  these  mean 
nothing  to  children,  but,  when  illustrated  by  the  inti- 
mate associations  of  the  playground,  gang,  club,  or 
school  itself,  they  stand  out  with  convincing  force. 
It  is  not  so  necessary,  however,  as  a  first  step,  that 
children  shall  have  these  desirable  qualities  of  con- 
duct pointed  out  to  them ;  it  is  far  more  essential  that 
they  shall  have  abundant  opportunity  of  actually  ex- 
periencing them  in  association  with  one  another  un- 
der the  wise  supervision  of  parents  and  teachers. 

H5 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

Every  school  which  sets  up  social  efficiency  as  its 
ideal  must,  therefore,  recognize  and  encourage  the 
group-forming  instincts  of  its  children,  through  which 
they  will  learn  much  that  will  make  them  well-rounded 
men  and  women. 

Various  Aspects  of  School's  Social  Life. — The  social 
life  of  the  school  has  naturally  several  phases  which 
must  be  recognized  by  the  teacher  who  wishes  to 
make  it  a  valuable  educational  asset.  In  the  first 
place,  there  is  the  school  as  a  whole,  which  is  itself  a 
"primary  group",  if  it  is  not  over  large.  In  that 
case,  it  can  easily  be  subdivided  into  natural  groups 
of  rooms  and  classes.  In  the  next  place,  there  are, 
even  in  small  schools,  the  still  smaller  groups  or 
clubs,  which  are  knit  together  by  some  common  even 
though  temporary  interest.  The  training  in  social  re- 
lationships must  center,  if  possible,  about  the  school 
as  a  whole.  The  sense  of  "our  school"  should  be 
built  up  and  nurtured  in  various  ways,  as  an  impor- 
tant basis  for  cooperative  undertakings,  and  as  a 
means  of  developing  in  all  the  children  a  sense  of 
loyalty  and  lawfulness,  all  so  needful  in  adult  so- 
ciety. The  morning  assembly,  the  entertainment,  the 
public  exhibition  of  the  school's  work,  and,  best  of 
all,  the  festival,  varying  with  the  season  of  the  year, 
a  cooperative  activity  in  which  each  individual  group 
in  the  whole  school  may  participate  in  varying  ways 
— all  these  are  to-day  increasingly  utilized  in  progres- 
sive schools  as  educative  agencies  of  a  high  order. 

Subordinate  Groups. — The  school  or  room  unit  will 
naturally  differentiate  into  various  subordinate  units 
which  will  provide  for  more  intimate  association  and 
for  the  fuller  satisfaction  of  kindred  interests.    Thus, 

146 


INTERNAL   LIFE  OF  THE   SCHOOL 

every  school  tends  to  have  its  athletic,  literary,  cam- 
era, and  dramatic  clubs,  its  debating  societies,  its  band, 
orchestra,  and  chorus,  and  many  others,  according 
to  the  size  and  make-up  of  the  student  body.  All  such 
subordinate  organizations  may  be  "primary  groups" 
of  the  very  greatest  value  to  the  pupils.  They  afford 
abundant  opportunity  for  practical  experience  in  the 
social  virtues  described  above.  It  is,  however,  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  all  such  clubs  should  feel 
themselves  but  parts  of  "their  school",  and  should  feel 
that  their  special  opportunity  to  follow  their  own  in- 
terests does  not  give  them  the  right  to  act  selfishly 
or  without  public  spirit.  Their  interests  are  but  dif- 
ferentiations of  the  general  school  interests,  and  they 
constantly  owe  it  to  the  school  to  bring  back  to  it 
some  contribution  of  their  own.  They  must  feel  that 
all  the  school  is  interested  in  what  they,  in  separate 
groups,  are  doing,  and  that  all  have  a  right  to  par- 
ticipate in  their  accomplishment.  Whatever  they  do, 
they  do  not  only  for  their  own  satisfaction,  but  be- 
cause it  contributes  to  the  honor  and  efficiency  of  the 
collective  life. 

Social  "Functions." — We  must  not  forget  the  par- 
ties and  social  functions  of  the  school  and  of  the  class- 
es as  a  further  means  of  social  training.  To  deal  prac- 
tically with  this  phase,  as  well  as  with  all  the  preceding 
aspects  of  social  life  in  the  school,  demands  a  clear 
recognition  of  the  needs  involved.  On  the  negative 
side  there  is  need  of  control,  because  of  the  almost 
certain  tendency  of  boys  and  girls  in  their  teens  to 
go  to  excess  in  social  matters.  To  control  does  not 
mean  to  depreciate,  but  to  see  to  it  that  the  social  life 
shall  be  beneficial  by  making  it  well  balanced.     On 

M7 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

the  positive  side  there  are  several  aspects.  First,  the 
general  need  that  all  boys  and  girls  shall  have  fair 
opportunity  for  training  in  social  relationships;  that 
some  shall  not  be  thrust  to  one  side  and  a  few  monop- 
olize all  the  advantages.  This  is  most  apt  to  occur 
where  there  are  not  definite  attempts  on  the  part  of 
the  school  authorities  to  supervise  and  actually  to  de- 
velop the  school's  social  life.  The  ones  who  are  least 
in  need  of  such  phases  of  training  are  most  likely  to 
get  it  all.  They  will  even  tend  to  exploit  the  whole 
school  for  their  own  selfish  benefit.  There  are  always 
a  large  number  of  backward,  self-conscious  boys  and 
girls,  who  need  to  be  brought  out  and  given  oppor- 
tunity to  participate  in  the  school's  social  pleasures 
and  activities.  They  need  it,  not  merely  that  they 
may  enjoy  their  high  school  life  fully,  but  also  that 
they  may  be  well  rounded  and  socially  efficient  men 
and  women. 

In  the  second  place,  all  these  high  school  youths, 
and  particularly  the  aggressive  ones,  need  training  in 
social  cooperation  and  in  social  unselfishness.  Group 
life,  a  social  consciousness  of  some  sort,  is,  as  we  have 
seen,  inevitable.  It  is  also  natural  and  inevitable  that 
these  adolescents  should  experience  a  genuine  desire 
to  find  themselves  in  a  larger  life  of  some  sort.  They 
crave  a  larger  life  than  the  merely  personal.  They 
are  eager  to  live  in  some  sort  of  atmosphere  of  social 
regard  and  social  appreciation.  They  experience  the 
utmost  readiness  to  sacrifice  narrow  personal  interest 
for  the  good  of  the  group  to  which  they  feel  them- 
selves to  be  vitally  related.  These  adolescent  impulses 
are  perfectly  normal  phases  of  human  development. 
There  is  nothing  about  the  youth  that  is  finer  or  of 

148 


INTERNAL   LIFE   OF   THE   SCHOOL 

more  ultimate  worth  to  him  as  a  man  than  just  these 
desires.  They  may,  however,  fail  utterly  to  bear 
good  fruit,  if  left  to  work  themselves  out  undirected. 
The  greatest  danger  is  that  they  find  expression  only 
in  a  narrow  group  and  that  the  larger  welfare  of  the 
school  be  ignored.  The  trouble  with  most  adult  life 
is  not  that  it  is  unsocial,  but  that  it  is  social  in  only 
limited  relations  and  within  narrow  groups  of  people. 
We  are  most  of  us,  for  instance,  loyal  enough  to  our 
friends  or  to  our  narrow  social  circle,  but  we  have 
not  learned  to  use  this  loyalty  in  any  large  way. 
Kindliness,  truthfulness,  honesty,  lawfulness,  and  jus- 
tice, are  fairly  common  traits  of  human  nature  when 
that  is  confined  to  a  small  circle  of  friends  with  mu- 
tual interests.  But,  if  they  are  ever  to  play  any  part 
in  the  larger  circle  of  life  in  the  city,  in  the  state,  in 
the  nation,  it  must  be  through  education. 

The  Need  Summarized. — The  need,  thus  stated,  may 
be  summarized  briefly  thus :  All  normal  boys  and 
girls,  whatever  their  future  vocations,  will  necessarily 
be  thrown  into  contact  with  other  people.  They  must 
know  how  to  live  and  work  with  others  if  they  are 
to  be  happy  and  efficient.  They  must  know  how  to 
talk  freely  and  without  affectation.  They  must  know 
how  to  persuade,  and  how  to  yield  to  persuasion 
graciously.  They  must  clearly  appreciate  the  rights 
of  others;  they  must  be  able  to  merge  their  own  nar- 
row interests  in  that  which  is  for  the  interest  of  soci- 
ety as  a  whole.  They  must  learn  that  a  moral  life  and 
happy  life  is  to  be  attained  only  through  submitting 
to  the  restrictions  and  conventions  of  society;  that 
these  conventions  of  social  life  are  to  be  submitted 
to  gladly,  because  they  are  safeguards  of  their  own 

149 


EDUCATION   FOR    SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

personal  well-being,  as  well  as  of  that  of  their  asso- 
ciates. 

How  Far  Its  Urgency  Is  Recognized. — So  much  for 
the  need.  In  order  to  determine  the  extent  to  which 
this  need  is  recognized  a  little  investigation  was  re- 
recently  undertaken  in  the  high  schools  of  a  Middle 
Western  state.  To  all  schools  having  approximately 
one  hundred  pupils,  letters  were  sent  out,  about  one 
hundred  twenty-five  in  all.  These  letters  inquired  only 
as  to  the  status  of  *'social  functions"  in  a  somewhat 
limited  sense.  Principals  were  asked  to  tell  just  what 
standing  such  functions  had  in  their  general  school 
program,  whether  the  students  tended  to  go  to  ex- 
cess in  social  matters  or  not,  the  extent  to  which  they 
were  supervised  by  the  school  authorities,  and 
whether  any  definite  attempt  was  made  to  develop 
such  occasions  into  real  and  valuable  educational  as- 
sets. 

Only  about  thirty  principals  responded  to  this  in- 
quiry. While  many  of  the  failures  to  reply  may 
have  been  due  to  the  natural  indisposition  of  people 
to  bother  with  circular  letters,  it  is  fair  to  assume 
that  a  goodly  portion  of  those  not  replying  were  not 
vitally  interested  in  the  question.  In  their  minds  there 
was  no  problem.  Doubtless  many  shared  the  feeling 
of  two  who  did  reply,  one  to  the  effect  that  ''he  had 
no  use  for  any  such  thing",  and  the  other  that  there 
was  "too  much  blamed  social  life  already". 

The  thirty  answers  bring  out  much  of  interest  to 
one  who  believes  that  there  is  a  problem  and  cares  to 
study  it.  These  answers  may  be  regarded  as  fairly 
typical  of  the  prevailing  attitudes  of  high  school 
principals.     Nine  principals,  or  thirty  per  cent.,  show 

150 


INTERNAL   LIFE  OF   THE   SCHOOL 

an  active  interest  in  the  questions,  and  five  of  the 
nine  are  really  doing  something  to  meet  them.  Five 
show  only  a  slight  appreciation.  Eleven  show  none 
at  all;  and  two  are  hostile  to  everything  of  the  sort. 
Fourteen  report  a  definite  tendency  in  their  pupils  to 
go  to  extremes  in  all  social  matters;  sixteen  see  no 
excessive  manifestations.  Of  these  sixteen  principals, at 
least  eight  report  so7nc  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
school  authorities  to  develop  a  controlled  social  life.  In 
other  words,  eight  out  of  the  sixteen  principals  who 
report  no  excess  in  pupils  have  at  least,  in  some  de- 
gree, made  the  social  life  of  their  pupils  an  object 
of  attention.  Nine  principals  who  report  a  tendency 
of  their  pupils  to  go  to  e\'ircmcs  report  also  that  little 
or  no  official  recognition  of  the  social  side  is  given. 
In  some  cases  it  is  ignored  and  in  one  case  of  excess 
the  principal  reported  that  he  definitely  suppressed 
everything  of  the  sort.  Manifestly  his  suppression 
was  a  failure.  The  normal  instincts  toward  sociabil- 
ity, denied  expression  within  and  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  school,  were  having  more  or  less  riotous 
development  outside. 

With  reference  to  the  faculty  supervision  of  school 
or  class  parties,  fifteen  report  a  fair  degree  of  super- 
vision, that  is,  one  or  more  teachers  are  expected 
to  be  present.  Nine  report  that  teachers  are  not 
only  present,  but  play  an  active  part  in  the  planning 
of  the  parties.  Four  report  no  supervision  of  any 
sort. 

Home  Cooperation  Needed.— It  must  be  manifest  to 
all  high  school  teachers  and  principals  that  the  suc- 
cessful handling  of  the  social  life  of  the  pupils  re- 
quires the  active  interest  and  cooperation  of  the  home. 

151 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

Nine  of  these  principals  recognize  it  as  in  part  a 
parents'  problem.  Excessive  social  activities  of  pupils 
develop  apparently  quite  largely  through  lack  of  plain 
common-sense  on  the  part  of  parents.  Some  have 
found  it  possible  to  enlist  the  help  of  parents,  with 
good  results;  others  urge  the  need  of  educating  the 
parent  up  to  where  he  will  see  his  own  responsibility  in 
such  matters.  In  some  places  it  has  been  found  that 
the  parent-teacher  associations  have  brought  about  a 
mutual  understanding  that  has  been  most  helpful  in 
the  control  of  the  pupil's  social  life. 

Friday  Afternoon  Parties. — In  some  schools,  in  some 
parts  of  the  country,  a  weekly  or  bi-weekly  party  is 
made  a  feature  of  the  school  program.  These  parties 
are  somewhat  formal,  just  because  the  adolescent 
needs  training  in  social  conventions.  They  are  ar- 
ranged to  meet  the  legitimate  need  of  the  pupils  for 
purely  social  recreation.  In  the  University  of  Chi- 
cago High  School  these  parties  occur  on  Friday  after- 
noons, after  school  hours,  and  are  attended  by  some 
of  the  parents.  There  is  dancing,  in  which  all  take 
part.  The  aim  is  to  secure  the  active  participation  of 
everyone,  rather  than  of  the  few  who  may  need  it 
less.  This  official  recognition  of  a  stated  period  in 
the  school  program  has  much  to  commend  it.  It 
would  furnish  a  means,  if  properly  carried  out,  of 
developing  a  healthful  school  friendliness,  a  means 
of  overcoming  snobbery  and  clannishness.  It  can  be 
made  to  take  the  place  in  part  of  the  high  school  fra- 
ternities. Not  that  the  secret  societies  will  be  aban- 
doned of  their  own  accord.  Experience  indicates  that 
they  must  in  most  cases  be  positively  forbidden  by 
school  authorities.     But  forbidding  is  not  successful 

152 


INTERNAL   LIFE   OF   THE    SCHOOL 

unless  various  other  avenues  of  social  activity  are 
provided  and  carefully  cultivated. 

The  attitude  of  the  thirty  high  school  principals  of 
this  Middle  Western  state  toward  such  a  type  of  social 
recreation  is  probably  fairly  representative  of  opinion 
in  other  states.  Some  of  them  think  it  might  be  a 
good  plan,  especially  if  parents  would  attend.  In 
general,  however,  they  are  dubious ;  in  part,  no  doubt, 
because  the  idea  is  unfamiliar.  Many  are  sure  it 
would  not  be  popular  with  the  pupils,  that  they  would 
think  it  tame,  that  it  would  be  too  frequent,  would 
be  bound  to  become  hackneyed;  it  might  be  sufficient 
for  their  needs,  but  not  for  their  desires;  would  be  a 
burden  on  teachers;  would  savor  of  the  school 
regime;  would  not  give  the  pupils  the  opportunity  to 
do  as  much  as  they  pleased  for  themselves ;  they  would 
want  more  freedom,  etc.  These  are  typical  answers; 
and  yet,  the  plan  has  met  with  marked  success  in 
places  where  tried.  There  seems  no  good  reason  why 
every  one  of  these  objections  could  not  be  adequately 
met  by  a  competent  principal  and  teachers.  One  prin- 
cipal admits  that  some  such  plan  is  needed,  and  two 
or  three  have  tried  some  modification  of  the  idea. 

Present  Status  of  Social  Entertainments. — At  present 
it  appears  that  the  chief  form  of  social  entertainment 
under  the  auspices  of  the  schools  in  small  Middle 
Western  towns  are  class  parties,  the  annual  reception 
of  the  juniors  to  the  seniors,  parties  by  various  school 
clubs,  such  as  the  athletic,  literary,  etc.  These  all 
present  interesting  possibilities  to  the  believer  in  social 
education,  but  it  is  unfortunate  that  the  need  of  gen- 
eral functions  for  the  entire  school  is  not  more  widely 
recognized.  It  goes  without  saying  that,  where  the 
11  153 


EDUCATION   FOR    SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

school  is  large,  it  is  not  feasible  to  handle  all  the 
pupils  at  one  time,  but  suitable  methods  of  diversion 
can  be  worked  out. 

Testimony  of  One  School-Man. — One  high  school 
principal  *  states  the  need  for  attention  to  the  social 
life  of  the  pupils  thus: 

The  school  must  provide  for  the  activities  suited  to 
high  school  age.  ...  It  must  furnish  an  education 
for  initiative  in  enterprises,  for  development  in  natural 
leadership,  for  the  genius  of  organization,  for  the  growth 
of  individual  talents,  for  the  meeting  and  solving  of  diffi- 
culties which  come  from  a  clash  of  interests,  for  the 
fostering  of  courtesy  and  dignity  of  manner,  and  last, 
but  not  least,  in  importance,  a  training  in  social  conven- 
tions, without  which  a  boy  or  girl  meets  life  with  a 
serious  handicap. 

With  these  needs  in  mind,  he  set  out  to  enlarge 
and  vitalize  the  usual  club  activities  in  a  high  school 
of  about  four  hundred.  They  had  "had  experiences 
with  the  fraternity,  the  excess  of  dance  and  party", 
and  had  felt  the  *'lack  of  solidarity  in  the  school 
which  puts  the  interests  of  the  school  above  all  out- 
side interests  of  club  or  clique".  Open  organizations 
were  "increased  to  twenty  or  more,  with  the  social 
feature  prominent  in  most  of  them".  Open  meetings 
with  printed  invitations  and  refreshments  at  the  close 
of  the  program  were  held.     Mr.  McLinn  continues : 

The  control  of  these  affairs  presented  the  first  prob- 
lem.    At  the  first  meeting   [of  one  of  the  clubs]    the 

*  C.  B.  McLinn,  in  The  Boston  Journal  of  Education,  74; 

345- 

154 


INTERNAL   LIFE   OF   THE   SCHOOL 

boys  drank  all  the  lemonade,  and  at  the  next  one  they 
pocketed  the  fudge  and  threw  salted  peanuts  at  the  girls. 
The  teachers  in  charge  were  in  despair.  We  determined 
on  a  concerted  action  to  create  a  spirit  in  the  school 
against  that  sort  of  rowdyism.  Frank  talks  to  groups 
and  to  individuals,  an  effort  to  awaken  a  desire  to  appear 
well,  discussion  in  classrooms,  expression  in  the  school 
paper  of  student  disapproval  of  bad  manners,  have  borne 
fruit,  and  abundantly.  The  sentiment  is  strong  for 
geniality  and  quiet  behavior,  and  the  popularity  of  the 
societies  is  also  increasing.  .  .  .  Each  holiday,  Hal- 
lowe'en, New  Year's,  Washington's  Birthday,  St.  Valen- 
tine's Day,  has  been  the  occasion  of  parties  by  the  purely 
social  class  clubs,  sometimes  for  the  girls  alone  and 
sometimes  for  both  boys  and  girls.  They  are  all  held 
at  the  school  building,  which  the  school  board  has  freely 
thrown  open,  with  no  expense  for  light,  heat  or  janitor, 
and  they  are  chaperoned  by  the  teachers.  Other  ex- 
penses are  borne  by  the  organizations,  and  the  original- 
ity of  design,  combined  with  economy  of  expenditure, 
furnishes  also  an  excellent  field  for  training. 

The  benefits  are  many.  Interest  and  identity  in  the 
various  social  groups  foster  a  pride  in  the  school  as  a 
whole.  The  greatest  force  for  discipline  is  a  gertuine 
school  loyalty,  such  as  comes  when  students  take  an 
active  part  in  directing  the  life  of  the  school  and  feel  a 
sense  of  ownership  in  the  organizations  outside  of  the 
classroom.  I  have  little  faith  in  the  student  government 
that  concerns  itself  with  matters  of  conduct  and  dis- 
penses with  justice  through  students'  courts  and  police. 
I  do  not  believe  in  the  autocratic  will  of  the  teacher  as 
the  best  means  of  discipline.  The  natural  and  effective 
force  in  school  government  is  a  cultivated  and  whole- 
some sentiment  in  favor  of  right-doing.     This  "school 

155 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

g-overnment,"  rather  than  teacher  government  or  student 
government,  is  one  of  the  most  apparent  results  of  train- 
ing through  school  organizations.     .     .     . 

The  effect  of  this  social  relation  between  students  and 
teachers  is  felt  in  its  reaction  upon  the  latter.  Teachers 
have  need  of  the  enlarged  sympathy  and  understanding 
w^hich  come  from  knowing  the  child's  point  of  view. 
The  problem  of  the  adolescent  mind,  with  its  dreams, 
its  determined  will,  its  desire  for  activity  and  recogni- 
tion, can  never  be  understood  by  contact  in  the  class- 
room alone.  In  the  large  schools,  especially  where  the 
teacher's  attention  is  likely  to  be  limited  to  her  own  in- 
dividual work,  the  spirit  of  cooperation  and  interest  in 
the  school  as  a  whole  often  comes  from  her  connection 
with  student  organizations. 

The  qualities  of  leadership  and  power  of  initiative  that 
develop  in  these  organizations  is  often  remarkable.  No- 
where is  the  spirit  of  democracy  more  powerful  than  in 
the  American  high  school,  and  nowhere  will  true  merit 
be  quicker  of  recognition.  The  responsibilities  of  offi- 
cers, the  efficient  work  of  committees,  the  planning  of 
programs  and  decorations,  and  unique  means  of  adver- 
tising entertainments,  all  teach  the  joy  that  comes  from 
doing  for  others.  True  social  efficiency  is  shown  in  the 
art  of  acting  with  others  toward  a  definite  end,  and 
through  school  organizations  are  learned  the  value  of  co- 
operation and  the  essence  of  self-government. 

New  Attitude  in  High  School  Administration. — The 

experience  of  this  principal  is  quoted  at  length  be- 
cause it  is  typical  of  a  new  attitude  that  is  developing 
among  high  school  administrators.  What  is  here 
given  could  be  duplicated  from  the  reports,  which  the 
writer  has  gathered,  from  other  high  schools  in  dif- 

156 


INTERNAL   LIFE  OF  THE   SCHOOL 

ferent  parts  of  the  country.  In  dwelling  at  such 
length  upon  the  educational  value  of  the  general  so- 
cial life  of  the  school,  we  must  not  lose  our  perspec- 
tive. This  is  only  one  part  of  the  school's  work,  and 
it  must  not  be  developed  to  excess.  It  must  not  be 
allowed  to  take  the  attention  of  the  pupils  to  such  an 
extent  that  it  detracts  from  the  more  serious  business 
of  study.  Nor  is  there  any  need  that  it  should  in  a 
school  where  the  officers  and  teachers  have  a  suitable 
sense  of  proportion.  Everywhere  there  is  need  for 
the  "golden  mean."  Just  because  there  is  danger  of  ex- 
cessive attention  to  "outside-of-class  activities"  is  no 
reason  for  ignoring  the  social  life,  which  is  bound  to 
be  present,  or  for  trying  to  suppress  it. 


CHAPTER  X 

SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT   AN    OPPORTUNITY   FOR 
SOCIAL   TRAINING 

Controlling  Power  of  Collective  Life. — The  fact  that 
the  school  is  a  little  society  has  many  important  bear- 
ings upon  the  problem  of  educating  boys  and  girls 
for  social  efficiency.  In  the  preceding  chapter  we  saw 
that  living  in  a  social  group  is  itself  a  character- form- 
ing influence,  which  may  be  either  good  or  bad,  but 
which,  in  either  case,  gives  one  certain  fundamental 
and  lasting  lessons  in  social  relationships.  It  was 
pointed  out  that  the  life  of  intimate,  face-to-face 
cooperation  and  competition,  such  as  one  finds  in  the 
family,  on  the  playground,  in  the  gang,  or  in  the 
club,  would  be  impossible  if  people  did  not  very  early 
acquire  certain  elementary  social  virtues,  such  as  loy- 
alty, which  involves  a  willingness  to  ignore  one's  own 
personal  desires  for  the  sake  of  the  collective  interest, 
and  withal  a  certain  kindliness  and  truthfulness  in, 
dealing  with  one's  fellows  or  co-workers.  It  was  seen 
also  that  such  a  group,  whether  it  be  a  company  of 
children  at  play,  a  gang,  a  club,  or  any  other  primary 
unit,  cannot  long  stick  together  without  some  regard 
for  one  another's  rights  and  some  agreement  among 
its  members  as  to  how  things  are  to  be  done.  Each 
person  must  be  willing  to  stand  by  the  rules  and  *'play 
fair". 

158 


SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT 

This  ingrained  sense  of  lawfulness  is  one  of  the 
most  striking  features  of  such  associations.  It  is  a 
characteristic  of  lawless  gangs,  as  well  as  of  the  law- 
abiding  clubs.  Within  a  predatory  gang,  for  instance, 
the  fellows  must  be  quite  fair  with  each  other,  and 
"play  the  game"  as  agreed.  This  feature  of  group 
life,  so  natural  as  to  be  almost  instinctive,  has  a  de- 
cided character-forming  influence,  and  is  of  the  ut- 
most importance  in  all  education  directed  toward  the 
making  of  real  men  and  women.  Whatever  other 
qualities  an  efficient  member  of  society  must  have  he 
must  be  law-abiding.  He  must  have  a  due  sense  of 
responsibility  for  his  own  acts  and  a  keen  and  active 
conscience  against  all  violations  of  group-morality  in 
others. 

Gang  Virtues. — We  quote  from  Puffer's  admirable 
account  in  illustration  of  our  statements  above: 

The  steady  pressure  of  gang  life  on  the  side  of  social 
virtues  appears  strikingly  in  the  rules  and  customs  of 
these  organizations. 

[They]  "Put  me  out,"  reports  one  youth,  "because  1 
said  one  fellow  didn't  have  spunk  to  play  the  leader." 
"Put  a  boy  out  of  the  gang  for  fighting  when  he  didn't 
need  to."  I'Put  a  fellow  out  once  for  fighting  with 
another  boy.  The  other  fellow  was  in  the  right." 
r  Never  allow  a  big  fellow  to  pick  on  a  little  one.  We 
were  against  smoking."  "Had  to  be  at  work  when  he 
comes  into  the  gang;  must  pay  his  dues."  /'All  stand 
up  for  a  fellow  in  trouble."  "Help  each  other  out  if 
we  get  into  trouble."  "If  anybody  picked  on  one  of  our 
fellows,  we  would  fight  them."  "If  a  fellow  didn't  divvy 
up,  we  started  fighting  with  him."  V"Put  a  fellow  out 
because  he  wouldn't  take  his  share  of  expense."     "A 

159 
r 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

fellow  wouldn't  share  up,  so  we  fought  him."  j"Put 
three  out  for  bossing  and  running  the  place."  "No  fel- 
low ever  told  on  us.  One  fellow  was  caught.  He  stayed 
in  Charles  Street  jail  three  months  before  the  rest  of 
us  were  caught." 

Or  consider  the  following  unwritten  laws  of  various 
gangs  as  a  preparation  for  a  law-abiding  life :  |  "If  there 
was  a  dispute,  the  leader  settled  it.  If  two  fellows  were 
fighting  for  a  thing,  he  took  it  away  from  them  and  gave 
it  to  another  fellow.  In  playing  dice  we  chuck  the  fel- 
low out  who  made  the  dispute."  "I  was  leader.  Would 
settle  disputes.  Would  say  whether  it  was  right  or  not." 
"Quarrel  for  five  or  ten  minutes,  and  then  ask  N.  to 
settle  it.  We  would  be  satisfied  with  what  he  would 
say."  "The  officers  would  'most  always  settle  the  dis- 
putes. Talk  it  over,  get  circumstances,  then  settle  it. 
They  would  stop  the  fighting."  "If  we  had  disputes, 
we  would  vote  on  it.  One  who  would  get  the  majority, 
to  him  we  would  leave  it  go."  * 

These  Virtues  Needed  in  Adult  Society .^ — Adult  soci- 
ety can,  no  more  than  a  boys'  club,  hang  together  and 
do  its  proper  work,  unless  it  is  composed  of  people 
who  will  stand  by  the  rules  and  sternly  repress  those 
who  are  not  inclined  to  "play  fair".  Hence,  boys  and 
girls,  as  they  grow  up,  must  have  exercise  in  such 
an  attitude  toward  life  and  the  orderliness  that  life  de- 
mands. 

Training  for  Civic  Life  Necessary. — It  might  be  ar- 
gued that  no  such  training  is  needful  if  children  nat- 
urally acquire  this  sense  in  their  youthful  organiza- 
tions. All  the  training  they  need  should  provide  for 
itself  automatically   in  gangs,   clubs,  and   in  playing 

*  Puffer,  J.  A.,  The  Boy  and  His  Gang. 

1 60 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT 

group  games.  But  this  is  not  the  case.  The  instinct 
of  the  youth  is  narrow  in  its  scope  and  limited  in  its 
appHcation.  It  is  not  Hkely  that  the  lawfulness  within 
the  gang  will  ever  be  extended  to  the  broader  rela- 
tions of  life,  unless  it  is  taken  hold  of  and  developed 
by  someone  who  sees  farther  than  do  the  boys  them- 
selves. Group  morality  is  at  best  only  raw  material, 
but,  even  so,  it  is  a  valuable  asset  for  every  teacher 
of  youth.  It  means  that,  to  make  responsible,  law- 
abiding  citizens  out  of  irresponsible  and  clannish  boys, 
one  does  not  have  to  implant  in  them  some  new  qual- 
ity, or  point  of  view,  but  only  to  provide  proper  op- 
portunity for  that  which  they  already  are  to  have 
exercise  along  right  lines,  to  shunt  the  native  energy 
of  boyhood  into  the  channels  that  will  enable  it  gradu- 
ally to  expand  into  the  full  measure  needed  by  the 
man. 

Opportunity  in  School  Government. — This  purpose 
can  be  attained  in  many  ways,  and  not  the  least  of 
them  is  the  opportunity  afforded  by  the  government 
of  boys  and  girls  in  school.  Here  the  teacher  or  prin- 
cipal has  a  golden  opportunity  to  exercise  children  in 
habits  of  good  conduct  and  in  a  proper  respect  and 
responsibility  for  law  and  order,  through  utilizing 
their  sense  for  these  things  gained  in  their  own  asso- 
ciation together. 

As  an  abstract  proposition,  it  would  seem  to  be 
almost  self-evident  that  a  well-balanced  education  of 
youth  could  not  afford  to  omit  such  training  from 
its  program.  And  yet  few  teachers  get  at  the  matter 
with  any  well-defined  and  conscious  purpose.  School 
government  is  often  regarded  as  purely  incidental  to 
the    intellectual    training,    or,    if    approached    more 

i6i 


EDUCATION    FOR    SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

directly,  it  is  usually  through  talks,  lectures,  and  gen- 
eral admonitions.  But  what  boys  and  girls  need  is 
practice  in  the  habit  of  responsibility,  practice  in  dis- 
criminating between  good  and  bad  conduct,  and  for 
this  the  daily  work  of  every  school  affords  plenty  of 
opportunity. 

Pupil  Participation  in  School  Government. — It  is  with 
reference  to  giving  the  youth  such  practice  that  many 
schools  have  tried  various  schemes  of  self-govern- 
ment, or,  more  properly  speaking,  pupil-participation, 
in  school  government.  Dr.  Charles  W.  Eliot  has  well 
stated  the  principles  underlying  the  educational  need 
felt  by  these  teachers.    He  says : 

The  first  of  these  fundamental  principles  is  that  the 
real  object  in  education,  so  far  as  the  development  of 
character  is  concerned,  is  to  cultivate  in  the  child  a  ca- 
pacity for  self-control  or  self-government,  not  a  habit 
of  submission  to  an  overwhelming,  arbitrary,  external 
power,  but  a  habit  of  obeying  the  dictates  of  honor  and 
duty  as  enforced  by  active  will  within  the  child. 

The  second  fundamental  principle  to  which  properly 
conducted  self-government  seems  to  me  to  conform  is 
that  in  childhood  and  in  youth  it  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance to  appeal  steadily,  and  almost  exclusively,  to 
motives  which  will  be  operative  in  after-life.  In  too 
much  of  our  systematic  education  we  appeal  to  motives 
which  we  are  sure  cannot  last;  to  motives  which  may 
answer  for  little  children  of  six,  ten  or  twelve,  but  which 
are  entirely  inapplicable  to  boys  or  girls  of  fourteen, 
sixteen  or  eighteen.  Thus,  fear  is  one  of  these  transi- 
tory motives  on  which  organized  education  in  the  past 
has  almost  exclusively  relied;  yet  it  is  well  determined 
by  the  history  of  the  race  that  the  fear  of  punishment, 

162 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT 

whether  in  this  world  or  the  next,  is  a  very  ineffective 
motive  with  adults. 

The  third  fundamental  principle  in  education  is 
Froebel's  doctrine  that  children  are  best  developed 
through  productive  activities,  that  is,  through  positive, 
visible  achievement  in  doing,  making  or  producing  some- 
thing. 

Student  self-government  enforces  positive  activity;  it 
appeals  steadily  to  motives  in  the  boys  which  will  serve 
them  when  they  become  men ;  and  it  is  constantly  trying 
to  develop  in  the  boyish  community  the  capacity  of  self- 
government.  Therefore,  I  say  it  is  based  on  sound  edu- 
cational principles. 

Questions  at  Issue. — Much  has  been  written  and 
spoken  on  the  subject  within  the  last  dozen  or  fifteen 
years,  some  of  it  heartily  in  favor  and  some  bitterly 
opposed.  Into  the  details  of  this  controversy  we  can- 
not here  attempt  to  enter.  Our  purpose  should  rather 
be  to  try  to  see  the  matter  in  its  right  perspective  and 
with  a  clear  appreciation  of  the  needs  at  stake  and 
the  principles  involved.  First  of  all,  let  us  say,  it  is 
not  the  form  of  school  government  which  is  of  the 
greatest  moment.  It  is  rather  whether  the  pupils 
are  actually  getting  any  practice  in  shouldering  re- 
sponsibility and  in  deciding  things  for  themselves,  as 
they  will  have  to  do  when  they  leave  school.  This 
practice  they  might  conceivably  get  in  a  variety  of 
ways  and  under  a  variety  of  external  forms  of  gov- 
ernment. A  school,  to  outward  appearance,  governed 
according  to  a  strict  monarchial  scheme,  might  fur- 
nish large  character- forming  opportunities  along  this 
line.  So  also  might  a  school  in  which  there  was  very 
little  said  about  government  at  all. 

163 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

Let  us  also  admit  that  a  school  which  seeks  to  give 
its  pupils  practice  in  law-abiding  conduct  may  not 
be  any  more  orderly  to  the  observer  than  one  which  is 
controlled  by  a  strict  and  arbitrary  authority.  The 
school  of  the  former  type,  however,  will  do  more 
real  training  than  the  latter,  because  its  pupils  are 
learning  the  lessons  of  self-control,  instead  of  merely 
submitting  to  authority,  and  self-control  is  really 
what  we  want,  tdtimately,  rather  than  blind  submis- 
sion. Without  committing  ourselves,  then,  to  any 
particular  form  of  school-government,  let  us  try  to 
see  how  pupils  can  actually  get  this  practice  in  self- 
control  and  in  civic  responsibility.  Let  us  try  to  see 
whether  the  conditions  of  school-life  are  such  that 
this  practice  can  be  real  and  not  mere  pretence. 

Sense  of  Social  Unity  Primary. — If  the  room  or  the 
school  forms  a  social  group  of  the  best  type  the  teach- 
ers as  well  as  the  pupils  are  members.  The  teachers 
do  not  stand  outside  and  aloof,  but  rather  participate 
with  their  pupils  in  the  common  life  and  interests  of 
the  school.  It  is  in  this  corporate  life  of  the  school, 
including  both  teachers  and  pupils,  that  the  real  basis 
for  genuine  pupil-participation  in  school  government 
is  to  be  found.  Unless  that  participation  is  a  natural 
expression  of  a  healthful,  kindly,  loyal  and  law-abid- 
ing group  spirit  it  is  apt  to  be  farcical.  The  teacher, 
therefore,  who  wishes  to  give  his  pupils  practice  in 
the  art  of  social  responsibility  must  first  see  that  his 
school  actually  furnishes  the  conditions. 

Natural  as  these  needful  qualities  are  within  the 
children's  own  associations  outside  of  school,  they 
may  not  appear  in  any  helpful  way  within  the  school- 
room.    The  pupils  will  possess  more  or  less  sense  of 

164    ' 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT 

their  own  "oneness",  but  this  sense  will  not  be  apt 
to  function  for  the  good  of  the  school.  They  may 
use  their  sense  of  social  unity  against  the  teacher 
rather  than  in  cooperation  with  him.  The  school 
may  be  just  a  seething  mass  of  individual  boys  and 
girls,  held  together,  or,  rather,  held  down,  by  the 
stern  authority  of  the  teacher,  or  it  may  form  a 
crude  social  unity,  bent  constantly  upon  mischief.  A 
few  aggressive  pupils  may  develop  a  public  sentiment 
of  insubordination,  and  those  pupils  who  do  not  ac- 
tively join  in  with  them  stand  quietly  to  one  side  and 
watch  the  fun,  or  even  admire  the  bravado  of  those 
who  dare  to  be  lawless.  In  other  words,  the  failure 
to  build  up  a  healthful  group  spirit  within  the  school 
results  in  many  right-minded  pupils  being  held  in 
abeyance,  and,  though  with  natural  inclinations 
toward  good  order,  instead  of  their  being  actively  en- 
listed in  its  behalf,  they  are  reduced  to  neutrality. 

Teacher  Must  Possess  Social  Sympathy. — If  the 
teacher  would  enlist  the  energies  of  his  pupils  in  the 
cause  of  good  order  and  give  them  practice  in  social 
responsibility  he  must  show  in  all  his  dealings  with 
them  a  genuine  capacity  to  be  one  of  their  group  and 
a  genuine  willingness  to  participate  with  them  in  their 
group  life.  To  do  this  does  not  mean  that  he  shall 
lower  himself  in  their  estimation.  He  does  not  have 
to  be  childish  to  have  a  really  sympathetic,  hearty  at- 
titude toward  children.  He  does  not  have  to  throw 
away  the  wise  influence  of  his  maturity  to  enter  into 
a  real  appreciation  of  the  children's  point  of  view. 
A  teacher  who  is  able  to  establish  this  relationship 
with  his  pupils  ceases  to  be  regarded  by  them  as  an 
arbitrary  and  external  authority,  whose  main  business 

165 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

is  to  make  them,  if  he  can,  do  what  they  do  not  want 
to  do.  He  is  rather  one  of  their  group,  older  and 
wiser,  it  is  true,  than  they  are,  hut  still  one  with 
whom  they  feel  they  can  cooperate. 

Pupils'  Part  May  Be  Gemiine. — The  plea  is  often 
made  that  pupil-participation  in  school  government 
can  never  he  more  than  a  sham.  The  pupils  only  pre- 
tend to  govern  themselves  and  know  it  is  only  pre- 
tence. The  teacher  or  principal  is  the  real  power  be- 
hind the  scenes.  Those  who  make  this  plea  fail  to 
grasp  the  point  of  view  developed  in  the  preceding 
paragraphs,  namely,  that  a  true  social  unity,  including 
pupils  and  teachers,  can  actually  be  formed,  and  that 
within  it  each  one  can  have  a  genuine  part  to  play. 
The  fact  that  the  teacher's  personality  has  more 
weight  that  the  children's  is  a  perfectly  normal  so- 
cial fact.  In  the  great  world  outside,  where  there  is 
interplay  of  personality,  there  is  every  gradation  of 
influence.  Some  people,  because  of  greater  knowl- 
edge, aggressiveness  or  superior  leadership,  are  felt 
much  more  than  others,  but  the  lesser  parts  are  none 
the  less  genuine.  The  teacher,  therefore,  should  be 
the  leader,  but  his  leadership  is  not  necessarily  sub- 
versive to  true  exercise  in  responsibility  on  the  part 
of  the  pupils. 

A  New  York  City  Plan. — Even  the  elementary 
school  affords  opportunities  for  beginnings  along  the 
lines  sketched  above.  The  plan  followed  in  one  of 
the  public  schools  of  New  York  City  is  suggestive. 
The  plan  is  as  follows: 

The  foundation  is  laid  in  the  lowest  grades  by  simple 
forms  of  pupil  cooperation,  without  any   of  the  forms 

i66 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT 

of  self-government.  In  the  middle  grades  pupils  are 
permitted  to  elect  a  few  class  officers,  who  take  charge 
in  the  absence  of  the  teacher  and  suggest  certain  mat- 
ters affecting  class  government.  In  the  upper  grades 
the  pupils  of  the  last  three  years  are  organized  as  a 
"School  State,"  consisting  of  a  federation  of  classes 
called  "Cities." 

Owing  to  the  size  of  the  school,  each  department  has 
its  own  set  of  state  officers,  consisting  of  a  Governor, 
a  Lieutenant-Governor,  a  Secretary  of  State,  a  State 
Treasurer,  an  Attorney-General,  and  a  Chief  Justice. 

Nominations  for  state  officers  are  made  by  a  conven- 
tion consisting  of  delegates  from  each  one  of  the  cities. 
A  general  election  is  held  once  a  term,  the  voting  being 
done  by  mimeograph  ballot.  The  canvassing  of  the 
votes,  a  very  interesting  process,  is  done  after  school 
hours,  so  as  not  to  encroach  on  the  time  devoted  to 
study.  The  duties  of  the  state  officers  are  those  usually 
performed,  with  modifications  made  necessary  by  school 
conditions. 

The  Legislature  is  bi-cameral,  consisting  of  a  Senate, 
composed  of  girls  elected  in  each  of  the  cities  in  the 
girls'  department,  and  an  Assembly,  composed  of  boys. 
Resolutions,  before  taking  effect,  must  be  approved  by 
the  Governors  and  signed  by  the  principals,  who  exer- 
cise a  final  veto.  When  a  Governor  vetoes  a  bill  it  is 
submitted  to  the  voters  in  the  class  and  by  them  ap- 
proved or  disapproved. 

The  Court  takes  cognizance  of  all  offenses  committed 
outside  the  classrooms.  In  the  class  the  teacher  is  in 
absolute  charge,  unless  she  decides  to  avail  herself  of 
the  State  Court;  in  such  case  the  Attorney-General  con- 
ducts the  prosecution  and  represents  the  teacher  or  the 
principal.     The  penalties  inflicted  are:     (a)   reparation, 

167 


EDUCATION    FOR    SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

where  possible,  (b)  apology,  (c)  reprimand  in  court, 
(d)  reprimand  in  class,  (e)  detention,  (f)  imposition  of 
demerit  marks,  (g)  deprivation  of  the  rights  of  citizen- 
ship for  a  stated  period ;  this  involves  the  forfeiture  of 
civic  rights  in  halls,  play-yards,  and  on  the  street.  All 
penalties  imposed  must  be  approved  by  the  teacher  in 
charge. 

The  classes  are  organized  as  cities,  with  a  mayor 
elected  for  a  term  of  one  month.  Each  row  of  seats 
forms  a  ward  and  elects  an  alderman  to  the  city  council, 
which  concerns  itself  with  affairs  pertaining  to  the  class 
— such  as  the  arrangement  of  pictures  and  decorations, 
the  distribution  of  material,  etc.  The  teacher  retains  an 
absolute  veto  over  the  deliberations  of  the  council. 

Preparation  of  Pupils  Essential  to  Success. — To 
prepare  the  way  for  such  a  system  the  teachers 
should  talk  to  the  smallest  children  about  "our 
school"  and  encourage  them  to  think  of  what  they 
can  do  to  make  it  better.  She  can  illustrate  in  very 
simple  ways  how  their  interests  are  all  bound  to- 
gether, how  they  can  help  or  hinder  each  other  and 
herself  in  their  work  and  play.  They  can  be  made  to 
see  that  unruly  conduct  is  an  infringement  upon  their 
own  rights  as  well  as  upon  hers.  In  all  sorts  of  little 
ways  they  can  be  thrown  on  their  own  responsibility 
for  maintaining  good  order  within  and  without  the 
school-room.  When  trouble  of  any  sort  arises  she 
can  talk  it  over  with  her  pupils  and  help  them  to  see 
it  is  something  in  which  they  are  all  concerned  and 
that  the  good  name  of  their  room  is  at  stake. 

Little  Children  Naturally  Interested.— It  does  not 
take  any  special  forcing  to  arouse  even  little  chil- 
dren's interest  in  these  things.     In   fact,  until  they 

i68 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT 

are  repeatedly  suppressed  they  show  a  great  deal  of 
natural  concern  for  all  matters  of  school  behavior. 
This  concern  is  often  crude  and  develops  into  trou- 
blesome "tattling",  but  it  is  the  manifestation  of  a 
wholesome  instinct,  which,  if  properly  cultivated,  is 
an  asset  rather  than  a  nuisance.  In  a  school  known 
to  the  writer  some  second-grade  children  were  once 
involved  in  a  little  quarrel  on  the  playground.  When 
the  teacher  appeared  some  of  the  children  who  had 
witnessed  the  trouble  volunteered  to  explain  to  her 
how  it  had  occurred.  She  turned  on  them  angrily, 
with  the  command  to  keep  still.  Her  attitude  was 
that  it  was  solely  her  affair,  and  she  preferred  to  set- 
tle it  by  an  exercise  of  her  own  authority.  She  ig- 
nored the  natural  concern  of  the  children  to  partici- 
pate in  an  adjustment  of  the  trouble.  Treatment  of 
this  sort  can  produce  only  one  result  in  the  pupils — 
the  feeling  that  misbehavior  in  others  is  no  concern 
of  theirs,  that  it  is  the  teacher's  business  to  detect  and 
punish  if  she  can. 

Need  of  Public  Sentiment. — No  teacher  wishes  to  en- 
courage foolish  "tattling",  nor  is  it  necessary.  Every 
school  should  develop  a  strong  public  sentiment  for 
good  order  and  should  provide  ways  in  which  this 
sentiment  can  express  itself  without  its  incurring  the 
odium  of  "tattling".     As  Mr.  Richard  Welling  says: 

It  is  alarming  to  realize  how  little  the  American  peo- 
ple are  concerned  with  their  public  affairs.  In  the  few 
days  preceding  elections  they  are  much  aroused  about 
measures  and  men.  But  when  the  great  day  has  passed 
there  is  a  general  sigh  of  relief  and  a  feeling  that  "it's 
a  good  thing  it  comes  only  once  a  year."  The  only 
12  169 


EDUCATION    FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

other  events  that  arouse  them  from  their  civic  slumber 
are  the  prosecution  of  public  officials  and  the  uncover- 
ing of  graft.  In  the  absence  of  these  the  average  Ameri- 
can citizen  devotes  himself  without  interruption  to  his 
personal  affairs.  This  is  what  is  known  as  public  apathy, 
and  instead  of  its  being  the  object  of  attack  from  all 
citadels  of  progress  it  is  looked  upon  as  an  elemental 
fact  of  civic  life.  Writers,  preachers,  teachers,  publicists 
all  agree  that  the  greatest  asset  of  the  political  boss  and 
the  greatest  obstacle  to  a  purer  and  more  enlightened 
democracy  is  the  apathy  of  the  mass  of  citizens. 

This  we  know — that  in  the  main  our  people  are  lack- 
ing in  a  true  conception  of  the  benefits  of  democracy; 
and  this  we  believe — that  by  permitting  the  pupils  in 
the  school  to  share  in  its  government  they  will  become 
habituated  to  democratic  living.* 

If  the  stability  of  adult  society  depends  upon  such 
a  willingness  of  the  majority  of  its  members  to  stand 
openly  and  fearlessly  for  good  government,  a  willing- 
ness to  support  its  appointed  officials  in  suppressing 
flagrant  wrongdoing,  it  is  hard  to  see  why  the  same 
should  not  be  encouraged  in  the  little  school  society. 
There  are  obstacles  and  difficulties,  to  be  sure,  and 
the  easiest  course  is  for  the  teacher  to  assume  the 
whole  responsibility,  but  this  is  not  the  course  most 
needed  by  the  pupils. 

Practical  Demonstrations. — The  efforts  thus  far  made 
in  many  schools  to  train  in  individual  and  social  re- 
sponsibility afford  very  suggestive  object  lessons  of 
the  truth  of  the  principles  here  set  forth.  Over  and 
over  again  it  has  been  shown  to  be  possible  to  develop, 

*  From  an  address  before  The  National  Education  Asso- 
ciation, 1903. 

170 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT 

especially  in  the  grammar  grades  and  in  high  school, 
a  full-fledged  sense  of  the  school's  collective  life,  with 
an  attendant  sound  public  opinion  on  all  matters  of 
conduct.  Over  and  over  again  it  has  been  found  pos- 
sible to  utilize  for  the  good  of  the  school  the  gang's 
instinctive  sense  of  lawfulness.  Children,  in  coopera- 
tion with  their  teachers,  do  show  an  amazing  capacity 
to  control  themselves  and  to  suppress  wrongdoing 
and  bring  in  line  the  offenders.  There  is,  in  fact,  no 
greater  controlling  force  than  that  exerted  by  a  social 
group. 

As  Mr.  Welling  says  in  another  paper  *  : 

Boys  and  girls  have  shown  an  astonishing  capacity 
to  deal  with  social  and  political  problems  similar  to  those 
that  arise  in  the  world  outside.  Even  the  truant  has 
thus  been  successfully  dealt  with.  Principals  are  unani- 
mous in  reporting  that  this  has  been  due  largely  to  the 
creation  of  public  opinion  among  the  children  them- 
selves. The  head  of  a  New  York  City  public  school 
reports  the  case  of  a  Jewish  boy,  a  red-blooded  tough, 
who  threatened  to  give  grave  trouble.  The  boy  chief- 
of-police,  with  public  sentiment  behind  him,  took  charge 
of  the  case.  The  young  tough  saw  the  light,  used  his 
energies  in  another  direction,  became  a  militant  good 
citizen  and  was  finally  elected  mayor,  and  was  a  good 
mayor  at  that.  It  was  only  natural  that  where  the 
mistaken  loyalty  of  the  boy  may  have  been  to  his  gang 
or  to  his  mischief-loving  hero,  when  once  this  loyalty 
was  perfectly  directed  the  original  worst  offender  should 
become  mayor  of  the  school  Republic. 

♦  Proceedings  of  the  National  Association  for  the  Study 
and  Education  of  Exceptional  Children,  191 1,  p.  94. 

171 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

A  School-city  in  Manhattan. — In  order  to  give  the 
reader  a  concrete  picture  of  the  working  of  a  school- 
city  we  quote  at  some  length  the  account  of  a  visit 
to  a  large  down-town  school  in  Manhattan: 

Here  is  a  school  city  of  four  years'  standing.  The 
school  city  officers,  headed  by  the  mayor,  a  small  girl, 
conducted  the  opening  exercises.  As  the  children 
marched  in,  in  perfect  step  and  time  with  the  music, 
the  principal  pointed  out  that  the  only  crooked  line  was 
in  charge  of  a  teacher,  in  the  absence  of  one  of  the  small 
officials.  He  went  on  to  say  that  he  had  recently  tried 
the  experiment  of  having  no  teachers  present  at  the 
opening  exercises.  So  far  as  the  children  were  con- 
cerned, the  experiment  succeeded,  but  he  had  to  give 
it  up  because  of  the  difficulty  of  finding  the  teachers 
when  they  were  wanted.     .     .     . 

After  the  exercises  the  principal  directed  six  teachers 
to  leave  their  rooms,  and  then  sent  me,  with  a  small  boy 
to  act  as  guide,  to  inspect  the  six  teacherless  rooms. 
In  each  one  I  found  the  president  in  charge  and  work 
going  on  in  as  quiet  and  orderly. a  manner  as  possible. 
When  I  got  back  to  the  principal's  office  he  told  me  this 
story:  Some  few  weeks  before,  one  of  his  teachers 
had  been  ill  and  away.  To  fill  her  place  the  authorities 
sent  an  elderly  woman,  who  is  on  the  retired  list  and 
acts  as  a  substitute.  Realizing  that  it  would  be  next  to 
impossible  to  explain  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  school 
city  to  this  teacher,  accustomed  by  life-long  habit  to  old 
methods,  he  simply  told  her  that  they  had  a  system  of 
self-government  in  the  school;  that  all  he  wanted  her 
to  do  was  to  hear  the  children  recite  and  to  assign  them 
their  lessons.  Beyond  this  she  was  to  do  nothing.  Let 
her  take  a  book  and  read,  occupy  herself  as  she  chose, 
but  on  no  account  interfere  with  the  discipline. 

172 


SCHOOL  GOVERNMENT 

/Por  three  days  the  elderly  woman  obeyed  instntctions 
implicitly.  On  the  fourth,  although, the  order  was  good, 
she  could  stand  the  strain  no  longer.  Old  habits  re- 
asserted themselves,  and  she  started  in  to  boss  the  job  in 
the  good  old  orthodox  fashion.  To  her  consternation, 
chaos  ensued.  She  grew  excited  and  tried  violent  meas- 
ures. The  chaos  turned  to  riot.  The  riot  turned  into 
open  rebellion,  until,  with  mingled  wrath  and  fear,  the 
teacher  fled  from  the  pandemonium  and  sped  to  the 
principal's  office.  The  priu^ipal  lost  little  time  in  reach- 
ing the  seat  of  trouble.  What  did  he  find?  The  presi- 
dent of  the  class  in  charge,  the  work  going  on  quietly, 
ithe  room  in  perfect  order.  The  elderly  substitute  left 
the  school  in  bewildered  rage. 

In  the  afternoon  came  a  session  of  the  court.  The 
court  meets  every  Friday  evening  after  school.  I  was 
somewhat  surprised  to  find  a  girl  presiding  as  judge. 
There  is  a  tradition  that  the  feminine  mind  is  not  judi- 
cial. This  little  judge  had  a  very  high  forehead,  a  de- 
termined chin  offset  by  large  and  kindly  eyes ;  altogether 
a  face  that  suggested  strength  and  a  sense  of  justice 
mitigated  by  "the  milk  of  human  kindness."  The  prin- 
cipal said  she  had  been  nominated  by  one  of  the  boys 
at  the  last  nominating  convention  in  these  words:  "I 
think  we  want  a  girl  for  judge,  because  girls  are  more 
merciful  than  boys  and  less  apt  to  get  mad  and  act  with- 
out thinking  when  they're  mad.    I  think  we  want  Minnie 

for  judge,  because  she's  got  these  good  qualities 

of  girls  more  than  most  any  other  girl  has."  Minnie 
was  nominated  and  later  unanimously  elected. 

As  the  ten  defendants  came  forward  successively  I 
was  impressed  with  the  rapidity  and  assurance  with 
which  the  judge  gave  sentence.  The  charges  were: 
"Turning  around  in  line  at  assembly,"  "Loud  talking 

173 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

during  school  hours,"  "Marking  school  books,"  "Fooling 
on  the  stairs,"  etc.  The  judgments  varied  from  acquit- 
tals and  reprimands  to  three  or  four  days  in  the  deten- 
tion room.  In  general,  the  sentences  were  light  for  first 
and  heavy  for  second  and  third  offences.  The  three  or 
four-day  detention  room  penalties  sounded  so  drastic 
that  I  inquired  about  them.  It  appears  that  the  deten- 
tion room,  instead  of  being  a  dungeon,  is  a  pleasant 
classroom  set  aside  for  the  purpose  and  presided  over 
by  a  school  city  official,  commonly  the  chie^iofi^lice. 
A  day  is  the  half-hour  after  school  which  the  Board  of 
Education  permits  children  to  be  detained.  As  most  of 
the  children  in  this  particular  school  stay  after  school 
voluntarily  for  more  than  half  an  hour,  it  was  difficult 
to  see  the  terror  of  this  punishment.  On  inquiry,  how- 
ever, I  found  that  this  penalty  was  greatly  dreaded  be- 
cause of  the  disgrace  attached  to  it.  Apparently  the 
philosophy  of  the  thing  is  this :  AVhen  punished  by  your 
teacher  you  are  a  martyr  in  tn?  eyes  of  your  fellows. 
When  punished  by  your  fellows  you  are  a  disgrace  to 
their  community 

Of  course,  no  sentence  may  be  executed  without  the 
approval  of  the  principal.  He  stands  to  the  judiciary  in 
the  relation  of  a  supreme  court.  He  told  me  that  it  had 
not  been  necessary  for  him  to  reverse  or  even  modify 
a  single  decision  of  the  girl  judge  since  her  first  few 
weeks  in  office. 

Next  to  the  judge  the  most  interesting  figure  in  court 
was  the  sheriff.  He  was  a  tough-looking  specimen. 
He  would  have  looked  much  more  appropriate  as  a 
prisoner  at  the  bar  than  as  an  officer  of  the  law.  It 
appeared  that  he  had  scrupulously  lived  up  to  his  looks 
until  his  election  as  sheriff,  since  which  time  he  had  been 
a  shining  example  of  efficient  propriety.    There  had  been 

174 


SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT 

not  a  single  case  of  contempt  of  court  during  his  term 
of  office.  Although  far  from  a  brilliant  student,  he  had 
at  least  taken  to  struggling  with  his  lessons.  He  told 
the  principal  he  wanted  to  make  a  good  record  as  sheriff 
so  that  "they''  would  some  time  elect  him  to  an  office 
with  more  work  to  it.* 

To  quote  still  again  from  Mr.  Welling  f  : 

The  idea  has  passed  the  experimental  stage.  Whether 
it  be  the  Brownlee  system,  which  emphasizes  the  pre- 
liminary character-training  side  of  self-government;  the 
Ray  system,  which  employs  a  Roman  form  of  self- 
government  ;  the  school  city  plan,  which  applies  the  prin- 
ciple through  the  organization  of  a  modified  municipal 
government ;  the  school  state,  the  school  country,  the 
student  council,  the  commission  plan,  or  whatever  other 
plan  may  be  devised,  the  utilization  of  civics  is  a  grow- 
ing factor  in  the  schools.  The  pity  of  it  is  that  it  is  not 
growing  faster. 

Enough  has  been  said  to  make  clear  the  point  of 
view  from  which  the  teacher  or  principal  should  re- 
gard the  problem  of  pupil-participation  in  school  con- 
trol. That  pupils  need  practice  in  civic  responsi- 
bility will  meet  with  general  agreement.  Just  how 
to  accomplish  it  in  a  particular  school  is  a  matter  that 
calls  for  much  tact,  much  keen  insight  into  child  and 
youth  nature.     The  plans  described  above  might  not 

♦"School  Republics,"  L.  B.  Stowe,  The  Outlook,  Decem- 
ber 26,  1909.  Reprinted  by  courtesy  of  The  Outlook  Com- 
pany. 

t  Proceedings  of  the  National  Education  Association,  191 1, 
p.  1008. 

175 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

succeed  everywhere,  certainly  not  without  suitable 
preparation  for  them.  Success  also  will  depend  on 
the  character  of  teachers  and  other  school  officers. 
Vrhey  must  thoroughly  understand  and  be  in  complete 
sympathy  with  what  is  proposed.  They  must  be  skill- 
ful leaders  of  boys  and  girls.  If  these  latter  condi- 
tions are  not  favorable  to  inaugurating  such  a  system 
in  full,  it  will  often  be  found  possible  to  do  it  at  least 
partially.* 

*  For  much  of  the  concrete  material  here  presented  I  am 
indebted  to  the  kindness  of  "The  School  Citizen's  Commit- 
tee," No.  2  Wall  Street,  New  York  City.  This  Committee 
offers  literature  and  expert  advice  to  any  school  desiring  to 
start  pupil-participation  in  government. 


CHAPTER   XI 
THE   SOCIAL  IDEAL   IN   THE   CURRICULUM 

Social  Efficiency:  How  Produced. — True  social  effi- 
ciency cannot  be  attained  by  any  educational  scheme 
which  is  narrowly  intellectualistic.  In  certain  of  the 
preceding  chapters  we  have  sketched  some  of  the 
means  of  bringing  the  school  into  closer  touch  with 
the  community  which  it  serves.  This  intimate  rela- 
tionship is  not  only  normal,  but  necessary  for  every 
well-balanced  school.  The  real  school  must  be  an 
organic  part  of  the  community  life.  The  training  of 
child  nature  in  the  school  must,  it  is  true,  be  more 
definite  and  systematic  in  certain  directions  than  the 
training  that  the  community  can  give,  but  it  must  not 
be  markedly  different  from  what  the  community 
might  attempt,  if  it  had  the  time  to  give  to  that  sort 
of  work.  It  should,  in  other  words,  be  a  training 
for  an  efficient  life  in  that  or  other  similar  com- 
munities. 

Community  Vitally  Related  to  School. — ^"All  the  in- 
stincts of  humanity,  all  the  growth  of  civilization, 
demand  that  intelligent  concern  be  devoted  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  young  and  inexperienced.  The  force  that 
holds  society  together  makes  it  also  desirous  of  pro- 
viding for  children  such  training  as  shall  perfect 
them  as  nearly  as  may  be  in  accordance  with  their 


EDUCATION    FOR    SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

possibilities  and  for  living  life  to  the  full,"  *  The 
fact  that  the  school  has  been  set  off,  under  the  social 
necessity  of  division  of  labor,  to  render  a  specialized 
service  affords  no  reason  for  its  confining  its  service 
to  a  purely  intellectual  and  largely  individualistic 
training.  It  should  be  its  function,  rather,  to  produce 
and  to  focus  upon  the  growing  child  all  the  best  forces 
present  in  the  modern  civilised  community.  It  must 
do  this  in  order  that  these  forces  may  exert  a  sys- 
tematic rather  than  a  haphazard  influence.  Such  a 
task  is  by  no  means  simple  or  easy,  but  it  is  none 
the  less  needful.  It  is  difficult  in  proportion  as  the 
school  attempts  merely  to  imitate  the  conditions  of 
social  life  rather  than  to  be  a  vital  outgrowth  of  this 
life. 

School  Must  Select  Best  Elements. — Moreover,  there 
are  many  forces  at  play  in  society  that  it  is  not  de- 
sirable should  appear  in  the  school.  This  is  partly 
due  to  the  fact  that  society  is  far  from  perfect. 
There  are  many  modes  of  behavior  current  which  we 
do  not  wish  to  perpetuate.  Hence,  from  this  point  of 
view,  the  influences  of  the  school  must  not  be  a  mere 
duplication  in  miniature  of  the  social  life  outside  the 
school.  It  must  be  an  idealized,  but  none  the  less 
genuine,  expression  of  the  better  aspects  of  the  life 
of  the  community.  Furthermore,  the  community  life 
is  complex  and  highly  specialized.  As  it  stands  it  is 
beyond  the  range  of  understanding  possible  to  the 
child.  It  needs  to  be  simplified  and  adapted  to  the 
various  stages  of  child  growth,  if  it  is  to  have  real 
educative  value.      But   simplification   should   be   pos- 

*  Dr.  William  McAndrew,  in  The  World's  Work,  Novem- 
ber, 1912. 

178 


SOCIAL   IDEAL   IN    THE   CURRICULUM 

sible  without  depriving  it  of  its  genuine  social  charac- 
ter. 

Method  of  School  One-sided, — The  intellectualistic 
training  of  the  old-time  school  was  largely  supple- 
mented, as  we  have  seen,  by  life  outside  the  school. 
Children  had  abundant  opportunity  to  share  in  varied 
types  of  work  and  community  experience.  If  the 
school  training  was  narrow  and  unsocial,  there  were 
a  thousand  ways  in  which  it  was  filled  out.  But,  in 
our  present  state  of  society,  it  is  doubtful  if  there  can 
be  such  a  complete  separation  of  functions.  It  is 
doubtful  if  the  intellectual  training  furnished  by  the 
school  is  really  adequate  as  intellectual  training  un- 
less it  is  connected  more  definitely  with  the  rest  of  the 
child's  life.  Divorced  from  all  social  relationships, 
the  school  studies  seem  abstract  and  incomprehensible 
to  the  majority  of  children,  and  they  fail  to  respond 
with  much  interest.  Their  best  efforts  are  not  called 
forth ;  they  fall  behind,  often  have  to  repeat  the  work 
and  are  adjudged,  by  the  narrow  standard  of  abstract 
intellectual  proficiency,  to  be  backward,  or  even  defi- 
cient. On  the  other  hand,  real  life,  community  life, 
has  places  for  all  types  and  variations  in  ability,  ex- 
cept for  those  abnormal  forms  found  in  the  criminal, 
feeble-minded,  and  insane. 

Training  Should  Be  Adapted  to  Individual  Ability. — 
Every  normal  child  in  the  community  is  entitled  to 
such  training  as  he  is  capable  of  receiving.  And,  in  the 
ordinary  "give  and  take"  of  neighborhood  and  commu- 
nity-life, each  child  usually  gets  more  or  less  real  prep- 
aration for  manhood.  However,  in  the  school,  which 
is  dominated  by  the  narrow  ideals  of  information  and 
discipline,  there  is  a  place  for  only  one  type  of  child, 

179 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

and  that  an  unusual  type,  one  who  is  interested  in 
ideas  rather  than  in  things  and  in  deeds.  If  the 
school  is  to  afford  the  same  opportunity  to  all  types 
of  children  it  would  seem  necessary  that  it  should 
reproduce  to  a  greater  extent  the  conditions  of  health- 
ful community-life.  Outside  the  school  both  the  in- 
formation and  motive  for  work  are  social ;  within  the 
school  it  is  apt  to  be  true  of  neither.  The  general 
question  of  motivation  we  have  considered  in  an 
earlier  chapter ;  here  we  confine  ourselves  to  the  prob- 
lem of  how  to  secure  a  more  socialized  subject-matter 
of  instruction,  a  more  socialized  course  of  study,  how 
to  connect  the  subject-matter  of  the  curriculum  more 
definitely  with  the  larger  life  of  the  pupils,  or,  per- 
haps, what  and  how  should  a  school  teach,  which  defi- 
nitely adjusts  its  efforts  according  to  the  ideal  of 
social  efficiency  f 

Our  inquiry  does  not  in  the  slightest  degree  ignore 
the  generally  recognized  function  of  the  school  to 
train  the  child  and  to  cultivate  in  him  the  right  and 
useful  habits  needful  for  adult  life.  It  is  concerned 
rather  with  the  question  of  the  best  means  of  accom- 
plishing these  necessary  ends. 

Why  Narrow  Standards  Prevail. — It  is  easy  to  see 
how  the  narrow  intellectual  conception  of  the  means 
to  these  desirable  results  should  have  come  to  pre- 
vail. In  the  first  place  the  conception  is  easier  to 
follow.  It  is  easier  for  the  teacher  to  tell  than  to 
develop.  It  is  easier  to  impose  tasks  than  to  guide 
original  impulses  into  fruitful  lines  of  expression 
and  growth.  It  is  easier  to  conceive  of  the  child  as 
an  idea-getting  machine  than  as  a  developing  person- 
ality, with  impulses,  motives,  and  appreciations.     The 

i8o 


SOCIAL  IDEAL   IN   THE   CURRICULUM 

great  difficulty,  however,  with  this  easier  way  is  that 
it  reaches  so  few  children.  As  long  as  school  men 
were  satisfied  as  to  the  correctness  of  the  intellec- 
tualistic  scheme,  they  complacently  regarded  all  chil- 
dren who  did  not  respond  to  it  as  backward  or  defi- 
cient. It  did  not  occur  to  them  that  there  could  be 
any  defect  in  the  type  of  training  itself. 

Definite  Results  Wanted. — The  idea  that  school 
training  should  be  a  real  training  for  an  efficient  so- 
cial life  is  by  no  means  new.  In  fact,  it  has  long 
been  held  as  an  abstract  theory.  There  is,  however, 
a  novelty  in  the  present-day  attitude  on  this  matter, 
and  that  is  the  growing  tendency  to  ask  whether,  in 
its  actual  work,  the  school  is  trying  to  do  anything 
specific  toward  the  realization  of  this  ideal.  Most 
teachers  have  tended  to  assume  that  if  they  had  the 
right  theory  as  to  the  aim  of  their  teaching,  it  would 
matter  little  what  they  actually  did,  for  all  efforts 
would  of  necessity  exert  some  influence  in  bringing 
their  ideals  to  pass.  However,  it  is  one  of  the  signs 
of  the  times  that  people  are  more  and  more  insisting 
upon  definite  results.  Less  and  less  satisfaction  is 
found  in  the  comfortable  feeling  that  the  results, 
though  intangible,  are  none  the  less  real;  that  there 
are  effects,  even  though  they  cannot  be  accurately 
specified  and  measured. 

There  is,  of  course,  a  danger  of  going  too  far  with 
such  demands.  Not  every  valuable  result  can  be  defi- 
nitely separated  from  other  results  and  accurately 
measured.  We  cannot  measure  all  the  results  of 
school  education,  all  the  deep-seated  enthusiasm  and 
character  development  that  may  occur  in  a  pupil 
through  association  with  a  high-minded  teacher,  and, 

i8i 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

yet,  we  must  not  imagine  that  these  fine  products  are 
entirely  unconnected  with  efficiency  in  those  phases 
of  the  educational  process  which  are  under  control. 
It  is  a  good  thing  that  we  should  try  to  see  more 
clearly  wherein  our  work  is  efficient  or  lacking  in  effi- 
ciency. Every  teacher  should  frequently  ask  himself 
pointedly :  Just  what  am  I  doing,  through  my  teach- 
ing, day  by  day,  to  cultivate  sound  judgment,  deeper 
appreciation  of  social  relationships  and  duties;  just 
what  practice  are  my  pupils  actually  getting,  through 
being  in  this  school,  in  doing  the  things  they  will 
surely  have  to  do  in  later  life? 

Closer  Connection  Needed  Between  Practice  and  Ideals. 
— The  current  demand  that  the  teacher  show  defi- 
nitely how  his  teaching  is  related  to  the  ideal  which 
he  accepts  as  valid  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  conviction 
that  a  good  deal  of  our  school  work  is  barren  of  re- 
sult because  it  is  not  consciously  connected,  day  by 
day,  with  any  governing  purpose.  This  failure  to 
make  connection  between  ideals  and  practical  work  is 
partly  due  to  wrong  conceptions  of  ideals.  With 
most  people  ideals  are  largely  luxuries,  because  they 
are  either  conceived  so  vaguely  as  to  be  useless,  or  as 
so  remote  that  they  become  unattainable.  The  natural 
result  of  such  a  point  of  view  is  that  educational 
ideals,  whatever  they  may  be,  have  little  place  in  de- 
termining the  actual  work  of  the  school-room.  The 
teacher  with  the  finest  aims  is  apt  to  become  the 
worst  sort  of  empiricist,  because  he  never  gets  his 
aims  into  any  sort  of  working  relation  to  his  daily 
problems.  //  the  social  ideal  of  education  is  to  he 
really  worth  holding,  it  must  he  capable  of  heing  put 
into  this  working  relation  with  the  actual  business  of 

182 


SOCIAL  IDEAL   IN   THE   CURRICULUM 

educating  boys  and  girls.  It  must  be  a  determining 
factor  in  the  teaching  and  administration  of  the  vari- 
ous school  studies,  as  well  as  in  the  more  general  re- 
lations of  the  school  to  the  community. 

Some  teachers  possibly  imagine  that  the  intellec- 
tual training  is  distinct  from  the  social  training.  The 
child  is  said  to  get  his  training  for  social  life  through 
the  various  "social  activities"  of  the  school,  through 
supervised  play,  and  so  forth.  But,  in  the  studies 
themselves,  the  training  is  admittedly  individualistic, 
and  is,  in  the  main,  a  training  for  intellectual  profi- 
ciency. That  is,  the  main  work  of  the  school,  as 
embodied  in  the  actual  work  of  study  and  teaching, 
is  not  directly,  or  even  remotely,  connected  with  the 
realization  of  the  social  life. 

Curriculum  Must  Be  Socialized, — Now,  in  a  really 
socialized  school  the  socialization  must  extend  beyond 
the  '^outside  activities",  so-called;  it  must  extend  be- 
yond the  school's  external  relationships  to  the  neigh- 
borhood ;  it  must  include  the  socialization  of  the  cur- 
riculum, and  of  the  methods  of  teaching  and  of  study. 
If  it  does  not  go  this  far,  we  cannot  hope  that  the 
main  work  of  the  school,  as  it  finds  expression  in 
the  study  and  teaching,  will  do  much  in  the  way  of 
making  of  boys  and  girls  better  members  of  society. 
If  they  acquire  social  power  it  will  be  because  of 
other  influences  than  those  exerted  specifically 
through  teaching  and  study.  If  a  pupil  is  to  get  any 
real  training  for  social  efficiency  through  his  school 
studies  it  must  be  because  his  teachers  make  that  a 
direct  and  specific  object,  both  in  the  selection  of  his 
studies  and  in  the  way  they  are  taught  to  him.  With 
such  an  end  in  view,  the  social  ideal  must  be  very 

183 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

tangibly  conceived;  it  must  be  thought  of  as  a  tool, 
leather  than  as  a  remote  goal  unrelated  to  present  en- 
deavor. 

The  problem,  then,  is  how  may  the  curriculum,  the 
studies,  and  the  regular  work  of  teaching  and  learn- 
ing contribute  to  the  realization  of  the  social  ideal? 
There  are  really  two  separate  questions  involved, 
namely,  that  of  socializing  the  studies,  and  that  of 
socializing  the  method.  In  actual  school-life  they  are 
interwoven,  but,  for  the  sake  of  clearness,  we  take 
them  up  one  at  a  time.  First  of  all,  how  should  the 
studies  be  socialized? 

How  to  Do  This. — The  fundamental  condition  of 
socializing  the  studies  is  that  they  shall  clearly  connect 
with  and  explain  some  phases  of  the  actual  life  of 
the  pupil.  It  is  not  sufficient  that  the  teacher  shall 
know  that  the  school  studies  are  really  phases  of  so- 
cial experience.  Thoughtful  teachers,  indeed,  have 
always  known  it.  They  have  known  that  people  can- 
not get  along  without  some  understanding  of  reading, 
of  writing,  and  of  numbers.  They  have  known  that 
the  successful  pursuit  of  vocations  requires  not  only 
skill  in  the  use  of  the  hands,  but  more  or  less  knowl- 
edge of  the  world,  as  given  in  geography  and  in 
other  phases  of  natural  science.  It  requires  some  un- 
derstanding of  the  principles  of  human  effort  and 
conflict,  as  revealed  in  history,  sociology,  economics, 
etc.  It  is  not,  however,  enough  that  the  teacher 
should  know  all  this  as  he  teaches  his  various  sub- 
jects. The  pupil  should  know  it  also.  The  funda- 
mental vice  of  the  traditional  school  lay  in  the  as- 
sumption that  these  important  forms  of  social  knowl- 
edge could  be  successfully  taught  without  some  rec- 

184 


SOCIAL   IDEAL   IN   THE    CURRICULUM 

ognition  on  the  part  of  the  learner  that  he  was 
really  learning  how  to  live  and  work.  It  was  as- 
sumed that  the  boy  would,  when  he  left  school,  see 
the  connection  of  his  school-work  with  life,  even  if 
he  did  not  see  it  at  the  time  he  was  in  school.  When 
he  went  to  work  he  would  be  able  to  make  practical  ap- 
plication of  the  knowledge  gained  in  school,  even  if  he 
saw  no  practical  applications  while  he  was  a  student. 
I  suppose,  furthermore,  that  everyone  is  agreed 
that  what  the  boy  studies  should  benefit  him  in  some 
way,  and  this  benefit,  if  it  is  genuine,  whether  it  be 
discipline,  culture,  skill,  power,  or  information,  must 
make  of  the  boy  a  more  efficient  man.  So  far  so 
good.  But,  when  it  is  assumed  that  he  will  get  this 
benefit  if  he  studies  and  is  taught  out  of  all  specific 
connection  with  social  life,  there  must  be  dissent. 
The  boy,  of  himself,  will  not  make  the  connection  be- 
tween what  he  has  learned  in  school  and  what  he  finds 
he  must  do  outside  the  school.  This  is  not  the  worst 
feature  of  the  case,  however.  When  the  teacher  and 
the  school  feel  that  they  are  not  under  obligation  to 
make  clear  the  application  to  life,  they  have  easily 
tended  to  allow  their  work  to  become  even  more  re- 
mote and  unreal.  The  criterion  of  social  utility  is 
constantly  needed  that  the  course  of  study  may  be 
kept  up-to-date  and  vital.  If  the  school  is  not  con- 
stantly required  to  measure  its  work  by  some  such 
standard  it  will  rapidly  drop  behind  the  actual  needs 
of  present-day  society.  It  will  keep  the  boys  and 
girls  at  tasks  which  not  only  have  no  clear  connec- 
tion with  real  life,  but  actually  have  no  connection  of 
any  sort,  being  even  many  decades  or  centuries  be- 
hind present  needs. 

13  185 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

The  First  Requirement. — In  the  socialization  of  the 
curriculum,  then,  two  things  are  needful:  first,  the 
subjects  taught  must  really  be  subjects  which  inter- 
pret and  prepare  for  efficient  living  in  the  present- 
day  world.  The  hulls  and  vestiges  of  outworn 
modes  of  thought  and  long  unused  ideas  must  be 
cast  away.  While  breadth  of  knowledge  is  desirable, 
and  facts  about  remote  times  and  distant  parts  of 
the  earth  must  be  studied,  such  facts  are  really  worth 
while  only  as  they  connect  with  that  which  is  near 
at  hand,  and  as  they  help  the  pupil  to  understand  his 
own  world  more  thoroughly.  As  mere  information 
about  remote  times  and  places,  they  have  no  value. 
Unless  a  body  of  fact  has  some  positive  contribution 
to  make  to  present  social  efficiency  it  has  no  excuse 
for  remaining  in  the  curriculum.  And  it  is  fair  to 
demand  that  this  contribution  shall  be  fairly  clear  and 
definite.  The  existing  fund  of  human  knowledge  and 
culture  is  so  great  that  only  a  few  very  niinute  frag- 
ments of  it  can  be  taught  in  school.  In  any  case  a 
selection  is  necessary.  When,  therefore,  that  which 
must  be  rejected  is  immensely  greater  than  that 
which  can  possibly  be  taught,  why,  in  making  up  the 
curriculum,  should  not  that  which  is  remote  and  un- 
related to  life  be  cast  aside,  and  that  which  is  of 
vital  importance  be  retained  ? 

The  Second. — But,  as  suggested  above,  another 
thing  is  also  needful  in  the  socialization  of  the  cur- 
riculum. Not  only  must  the  content  actually  be  re- 
lated to  real  life,  it  must  be  presented  to  the  pupil 
so  that  he  can  see  its  relation  and  see  it  rather  clearly. 
We  do  not  mean  by  this  that  every  item  and  detail  of 
each  study  must  be  so  interpreted  for  the  pupil.    This 

i86 


SOCIAL   IDEAL   IN    THE    CURRICULUM 

would  be  impossible,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  indi- 
vidual differences  in  mental  ability  in  the  pupils  them- 
selves. Our  point  is  rather  that  this  sense  of  reality 
shall  be  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception. 

Relatio^^  to  Immediate  Interests. — Moreover,  by  re- 
lation to  life  is  meant  not  merely  relation  to  some  re- 
mote future  life,  but,  first  of  all,  this  immediately 
present  life  of  the  pupil's  school  days.  To  be  sure, 
his  school  work  must  prepare  for  the  future,  but,  if 
this  is  the  only  appeal  it  can  make  to  him,  he  will  not 
become  very  enthusiastic  over  it.  It  is  his  present 
life  in  which  he  is  mainly  interested.  And  what  is 
this  present  life?  Some  people  imagine  it  is  only  a 
life  of  play,  and  play  it  largely  is,  and  should  be. 
But  the  boy,  and  the  girl,  too,  have  other  interests 
than  those  of  play.  They  are  keenly  alive  to  much 
else  that  goes  on  in  the  world.  Their  range  of  vision 
is  limited,  of  course,  but  is  constantly  growing.  They 
are  interested  in  what  they  see  men  and  women  ab- 
sorbed in.  They  want  to  know  about  the  work  go- 
ing on  about  them.  They  like  to  see  things  made, 
and  like  to  have  the  processes  of  making  explained  to 
them.  They  are  glad  to  try  their  own  hands,  de- 
lighted with  the  opportunity  of  showing  that  they 
also  have  power.  All  normal  children,  in  fact,  are 
curious  about  almost  everything  that  takes  the  atten- 
tion of  adult  society. 

Children's  Interest  in  the  World's  Work. — It  takes 
very  little  effort  to  interest  children  in  the  various 
phases  of  the  everyday  work  of  the  world.  Certainly 
a  part  of  their  creation  should  consist  in  introducing 
them  to  this  rich,  throbbing,  compelling  life,  which  .'-' 
they  find  on  every  side.     It  needs  explanation,  too: 

187 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

its  most  important  features  must  be  pointed  out  and 
discussed,  the  different  ways  men  have  of  making  a 
living  must  be  explained.  The  child  must  be  made 
to  observe  more  and  more  the  conditions  of  success- 
ful work  in  different  vocations.  He  must  learn  about 
the  most  important  products  of  human  skill  and  in- 
genuity, about  foods  and  fabrics,  about  metals,  clays, 
and  woods,  about  the  wonders  of  steam  and  electric- 
it)^  and  their  relation  to  human  life.  He  must  under- 
stand how  the  raw  materials  for  all  the  highly 
wrought  products  of  human  labor  come  from  the 
earth,  why  conservation  is  necessary  for  the  good  of 
everybody,  how  labor  is  essential  to  human  happiness 
and  well-being.  He  must  have  pointed  out  to  him 
how  men  must  work  together,  the  value  of  coopera- 
tion, and  how,  underneath  all  else,  is  society's  funda- 
mental need  that  men  should  deal  justly  and  honestly 
with  one  another. 

In  these,  and  in  many  other  things,  boys  and  girls 
are  interested.  They  are  realities  to  them,  nor  does 
this  fact  detract  from  their  value  as  preparation  for 
mature  life.  In  fact,  as  childhood  turns  into  youth 
the  interest  in  what  one  is  going  to  be  and  do  to  make 
a  living  comes  strikingly  to  the  foreground. 

Summary. — Thus,  our  answer  to  the  question — 
What  do  we  mean  by  relation  to  life — is  a  double 
one.  We  mean  that  the  school  work  shall  be 
related  both  to  the  child's  present  interest  in  the 
real  world  of  adult  activities  and  to  the  interest  he 
soon  develops  in  his  own  life's  work.  Both  of  these 
connections  must  be  made  between  the  school  and 
life.  Both  interests  interact  and  enrich  each  other. 
Ultimately  they  are  but  sides  of  the  same  impulse, 

i88 


SOCIAL  IDEAL   IN   THE   CURRICULUM 

the  impulse  to  he  a  real  man  or  woman  in  the  real 
world  as  over  against  the  world  of  remote  abstrac- 
tions, dead  languages,  and  mathematical  formula:. 
Not  that  these  are  objectionable,  but  if  they  are  to 
play  any  genuine  part  in  the  education  of  the  boy, 
they  must  prove  to  him  that  they  are  connected  in 
some  vital  v^ay  with  the  life  he  has  to  lead.  In  not 
every  part  of  school  v^ork,  nor  at  all  times  in  the 
school,  can  this  appeal  to  real  life  be  made.  The  boy 
must  be  trained  in  school  to  work ;  he  may  even  need 
to  be  drilled  in  many  things  that  will  seem  to  him  at 
the  time  to  be  but  little  better  than  drudgery.  But 
this  need  not,  and  must  not,  be  the  prevailina  condi- 
tion in  his  school  training.  Over  all  tlie  wofk  which 
partakes  of  drudgery  must  fall  ever  and  anon  the 
gleam  of  reality.  The  pupil  must  feel  more  and  more 
that  he  is  at  least  getting  a  lot  of  good  stuff  for  just 
those  things  that  seem  worth  while  to  actual  boys  and 
girls. 

Curriculum  Satisfies  Children's  Interests. — Fortunate- 
ly most  of  the  school  studies,  if  they  are  properly 
taught,  are  capable  of  satisfying  in  some  degree  the 
child's  interest  in  the  real  world.  They  are  not  en- 
tirely foreign  to  normal,  healthful  human  desires. 
The  first  step,  then,  toward  the  attainment  of  a  more 
socialized  course  of  study  is  that  the  schools  make 
use  of  the  opportunities  they  already  have  in  the  cur- 
riculum as  it  stands.  Let  the  teachers  feel  more 
keenly,  as  they  teach  arithmetic  and  geography,  or 
history,  that  they  are  interpreting  human  interests  to 
the  children.  Let  them  reflect  that  these  studies  have 
not  always  existed  ready-made  for  the  mere  purpose 
of  giving  mental  training.     They  are  selections  out 

189 


EDUCATION   FOR    SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

of  the  rich  fund  of  race  experience,  selected  because 
they  are  supposedly  adapted  to  introducing  the  child 
to  a  sympathetic  and  efficient  understanding  of  that 
experience.  But,  if  they  are  to  accomplish  that  re- 
sult, they  must  be  taught  from  that  point  of  view 
and  not  as  so  much  external  material  to  be  learned. 

How  can  this  social  point  of  view  in  the  various 
studies  be  actually  carried  out?  This  is  really  what 
we  are  interested  in  here,  rather  than  in  any  general 
discussion  of  principles.  How  can  the  real  teacher 
in  the  real  school-room  develop  such  ideas  as  have 
here  been  suggested  ?  To  answer  such  questions  fully 
would  require  a  special  book  on  the  socialization  of 
the  curriculum.  But  a  few  things  can  be  said  to  indi- 
cate the  lines  along  which  practical  endeavors  must 
proceed. 

Oral  Reading. — The  first  practical  suggestion  is  the 
one  given  above,  namely,  that  the  teacher  have  the 
right  point  of  view.  This  means  that  he  should  teach 
oral  reading,  for  example,  not  as  a  mere  isolated  ac- 
complishment, but  as  a  tool  of  definite  social  value. 
Of  course,  even  the  best  teacher  will  have  to  give  a 
good  deal  of  attention  to  the  mere  mechanics  of  read- 
ing, but  mechanical  skill  is  only  a  means  to  an  end, 
and  it  should  never  at  any  stage  of  the  process  of 
learning  overshadow  the  real  end  in  view.  This  end 
is  that  we  may  communicate  something  contained  on 
a  printed  or  written  page  to  others,  for  their  enter- 
tainment or  instruction.  When  children  read  in  a 
class,  they  usually  all  read  the  same  selections.  As 
every  pupil  knows  what  every  other  one  is  to  express, 
the  main  motive  for  good  reading  is  absent.  Why 
take  pains  to  express  the  thought  well,  when  all  know 

190 


SOCIAL  IDEAL   IN   THE   CURRICULUM 

it  or  can  see  it  for  themselves?  Again,  why  should 
one  listen  to  another  read  except  to  hear  and  enjoy? 
The  ordinary  method  of  teaching  reading  deprives 
the  child  of  even  the  social  motive  for  listening.  He 
listens,  not  that  he  may  share  the  interesting  experi- 
ence which  his  fellow  pupil  is  communicating,  but 
that  he  may  detect  technical  errors,  mispronuncia- 
tions, wrong  inflections,  and  the  like. 

As  over  against  this  method,  which  sees  in  reading 
an  individual  accomplishment  only,  the  socialized 
method  will  seek  all  sorts  of  ways  of  emphasizing  the 
social  significance  and  utility  of  that  art.  That  the 
means  of  doing  this  will  vary  with  the  age  and  ad- 
vancement of  the  pupil  one  can  readily  see.  In  every 
grade  of  the  school  the  underlying  motive  for  all 
reading  must  be  the  interesting  and  effective  com- 
munication of  thought.  Excellence  in  reading  will  be 
constantly  estimated  by  the  degree  in  which  the  pupil 
succeeds  in  doing  this.  Children  may  read  different 
things  in  their  classes,  and  thus  gain  genuine  experi- 
ence in  oral  communication.  The  value  of  reading 
as  a  social  tool  will  be  discussed,  and  the  wide  range 
of  experience  that  the  good  reader  can  make  his  own 
will  be  pointed  out.  It  is  often  noted  that  children 
begin  to  learn  to  read  with  much  interest  and,  after 
a  year  or  two  of  excellent  progress,  lose  interest,  and 
cease  to  improve  any  further.  This  is  less  apt  to  oc- 
cur where  the  pupil  feels  he  is  reading  for  a  purpose, 
especially  if  he  sees  it  is  a  means  of  bringing  him 
into  touch  with  other  people  and  of  helping  him  to 
share  in  their  thoughts.  Reading  thus  becomes  a  fas- 
cinating social  tool,  capable  of  bringing  to  one  all 
sorts  of  social  pleasures  and  social  satisfactions. 

191 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

Writing. — In  the  same  way  writing  may  be  trans- 
formed from  an  isolated  act  of  skill  to  an  important 
social  instrument.  When  a  boy  has  something  to 
communicate  to  another  he  has  a  motive  for  writing 
on  the  basis  of  which  all  desirable  proficiency  in  the 
mechanics  of  writing  can  be  developed. 

Socialized  Geography. — On  the  side  of  the  informa- 
tional studies,  geography  may  serve  as  one  illustra- 
tion. It  is  usually  taught  as  a  mass  of  miscellaneous 
facts  about  the  earth,  its  products,  people,  and  coun- 
tries. Such  geography  as  this  can  be  committed  to 
memory  and  it  satisfies  a  certain  inferior  type  of  curi- 
osity. The  ideal  of  attainment  is  that  the  mind  may 
be  stored  with  as  large  a  collection  of  facts  as  possi- 
ble as  was  the  case  of  a  little  girl  of  the  "school  of 
day-be  fore-yesterday",  who  was  marked  high  in  her 
geography  because  she  could  answer  117  questions  on 
the  map  of  North  America,  y^  questions  on  the  map 
of  Europe,  and  so  on.  But  this  is  not  geography  in 
any  proper  sense  of  the  word.  Real  geography  should 
interpret  to  the  child  many  important  human  relations 
and  human  activities.  ''The  essence  of  any  geographi- 
cal fact  is  the  consciousness  of  two  persons,  or  two 
groups  of  persons  who  are  at  once  separated  and 
connected  by  the  physical  environment,  and  the  inter- 
est is  in  seeing  how  these  people  are  at  once  kept 
apart  and  brought  together  in  their  actions  by  the  in- 
strumentality of  this  physical  environment.  The  ulti- 
mate significance  of  lake,  river,  mountain,  and  plain 
is  not  physical,  but  social ;  it  is  the  part  which  it  plays 
in  modifying  and  [assisting]  human  relationships. 
[Commercial  geography]  has  not  to  do  simply  with 
business,  in  the  narrow  sense,  but  includes  whatever 

192 


SOCIAL  IDEAL   IN   THE   CURRICULUM 

relates  to  human  intercourse  and  intercommunication, 
as  aflFected  by  natural  forms  and  properties."  * 

From  a  social  point  of  view,  then,  the  purpose  of 
geography  in  the  schools  is  to  give  boys  and  girls  some 
intelligent  idea  of  their  relation  to  their  physical  and 
social  environment.  Every  fact  of  physical,  political, 
and  even  mathematical  geography  is  capable  of  being 
related  to  human  life  and  to  human  effort.  Much  of 
it  can  be  related  in  one  way  or  another  to  the  pupils 
themselves.  Facts  of  climate,  of  mountains  and  riv- 
ers, and  of  products  of  the  soil  in  remote  parts  of 
the  earth  often  affect  in  intimate  ways  the  health  and 
welfare  of  American  school  children.  A  fact  that 
affects  us  in  some  way  is  far  more  significant  than 
one  which  does  not.  Step  by  step  the  pupil  can  be 
led  out  to  an  understanding  of  other  people  in  their 
various  modes  of  life  and  work  either  as  they  con- 
tribute to  his  own  happiness  or  help  him  to  appreciate 
his  own  problems  of  work. 

Experience  of  Some  Elementary  Schools. — Some  ele- 
mentary schools  have  actually  taken  up  a  large  part 
of  geography  through  this  study  of  the  relation  of 
the  industries  and  products  of  other  countries  to  the 
life  of  their  own  city.  They  have  studied  in  detail 
how  lines  of  commerce  from  all  over  the  world  con- 
verge at  their  door,  how  the  manifold  industries  and 
commercial  enterprises  of  the  city  depend  upon  this 
cooperation  with  lands  and  peoples  widely  scattered. 
The  products  of  the  Amazon  Valley,  or  of  China,  are 
discussed  in  their  relation  to  their  own  lives.  A  more 
formal  logical  study  of  the  subject  might  be  desirable 

*  John  Dewey,  "Ethical  Principles  Underlying  Education," 
The  Third  Yearbook  of  the  National  Herbart  Society. 

193 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

at  a  later  period,  but,  for  children  in  the  grades,  this 
method  is  far  more  effective.  The  principal  of  a  large 
city  school,  where  geography  is  thus  taught,  empha- 
sized the  enthusiasm  of  the  children  in  tracing  all 
sorts  of  relationships,  in  gathering  materials,  in  the 
way  of  pictures,  specimens,  magazine  articles,  and 
relevant  information  from  other  books  than  the  text. 
This  method  furnished  large  opportunity  for  individ- 
ual initiative,  for  much  valuable  social  cooperation. 
The  pupils  felt  themselves  individually  responsible  for 
the  progress  of  the  study;  each  had  a  chance  to  con- 
tribute something  to  the  general  store  of  information. 
Such  pupils  were  not  studying  mere  geography,  hut 
rather  their  own  life  interests  as  these  were  affected 
by  the  wide  world. 

Socialized  History. — As  another  illustration  of 
needed  socialization  we  may  take  history.  Here, 
again,  it  is  possible  for  the  pupil  to  spend  most  of  his 
time  memorizing  miscellaneous  facts,  with  little  ap- 
preciation that  these  facts  may  have  any  connection 
with  the  understanding  of  present-day  affairs.  Of 
course,  there  are  all  degrees  of  connection  between 
historic  facts  and  the  pupil's  own  life.  History  pre- 
sents information  as  far  apart  in  value  as  Charle- 
magne's large  nose,  Cromwell's  wart,  the  English 
Bill  of  Rights,  and  the  Monroe  Doctrine. 

As  Professor  Dewey  says :  *  "History  is  vital  or 

dead  to  the  child,  according  as  it  is  or  is  not  presented 

from  the  sociological  standpoint.     When  it  is  treated 

simply  as  a  record  of  what  has  passed  and  gone  it 

must  be  mechanical,  because  the  past  is  remote.    The 

ethical  [and  social]  value  of  history  teaching  will  be 

♦  Op.  cit. 

194 


SOCIAL  IDEAL  IN   THE   CURRICULUM 

measured  by  the  extent  to  which  it  is  treated  as  a 
matter  of  analysis  of  existing  social  relations."  The 
l)iipil  must  see,  through  his  study  of  history,  how 
many  different  forces  have  cooperated  to  make  our 
present  world  what  it  is ;  it  should  help  him  to  grasp 
the  idea  that  all  existing  institutions  are  growths,  evo- 
lutions, and  that  they  can  be  rightly  understood  only 
as  they  are  viewed  with  the  background  or  perspec- 
tive furnished  by  history.  The  pupil  can  understand 
the  fact  of  progress  only  as  he  studies  other  times  and 
peoples.  He  needs  to  know,  for  instance,  something 
of  the  corruption  in  the  early  political  life  of  the 
United  States,  not  in  order  to  be  self-complacent  over 
any  later  improvement,  but  that  he  may  be  fired  with 
a  zeal  to  make  our  political  life  still  cleaner  and 
more  worthy. 

In  the  study  of  United  States  history  all  of  the 
lines  of  development  in  such  problems  as  slavery, 
money,  tariff,  constitutional  interpretation,  industrial 
expansion,  and  labor,  and  a  score  of  other  subjects, 
can  profitably  be  worked  out  with  definite  reference 
to  the  fuller  understanding  of  modern  complex  condi- 
tions. Where  there  is  no  direct  connection  to  be 
made,  no  chain  of  causes  and  effects  to  be  worked  out, 
there  is  still  much  of  social  value.  In  story  and  in 
biography  the  pupil  has  usually  suggestive  pictures 
of  human  life  and  struggle,  which  inspire  him  to 
greater  effort  himself.  They  often  represent  typical 
situations,  which  are  illuminating  for  all  time.  It  is 
important,  however,  that  the  characters  in  the  his- 
torical narratives  or  stories  should  be  treated  in  their 
relation  to  the  community  life  behind  them.  The  re- 
lation and  the  responsibility  of  the  hero  to  the  life 

195 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

that  surrounds  him  is  a  most  important  lesson  to 
bring  home  to  boys  and  girls. 

To  quote  again  from  Professor  Dewey :  *  "What 
the  normal  child  continuously  needs  is  not  so  much 
isolated  moral  lessons,  instilling  into  him  the  impor- 
tance of  truthfulness  and  honesty,  or  the  beneficent 
results  that  follow  from  some  particular  act  of  patri- 
otism. It  is  the  formation  of  habits  of  social  im- 
agination and  conception.  I  mean  by  this  it  is  neces- 
sary that  the  child  should  be  forming  the  habit  of 
interpreting  the  special  incidents  that  occur  and  the 
particular  situations  that  present  themselves  in  terms 
of  the  whole  social  life.  The  evils  of  the  present  in- 
dustrial and  political  situation  are  not  due  so  much 
to  actual  perverseness  on  the  part  of  individuals  con- 
cerned, nor  to  mere  ignorance  of  what  constitutes  the 
ordinary  virtues  as  to  inability  to  appreciate  the  social 
environment  in  which  we  live.  It  is  tremendously 
complex  and  confused.  .  .  .  Most  people,  are  left  at 
the  mercy  of  tradition,  impulse,  or  the  appeals  of 
those  who  have  special  and  class  interests  to  serve." 
History,  if  rightly  taught,  should  be  an  important  in- 
strument in  creating  this  greater  intelligence  which  is 
so  needful  for  real  social  efficiency. 

Other  Studies. — The  other  ordinary  school  studies 
have  many  of  the  same  possibilities  of  socialization  as 
those  discussed  above.  They  might  be  summarized 
in  the  words  of  Dean  James  E.  Russell,  from  his  ar- 
ticle, "The  School  and  Industrial  Life"  :  f 

The  quantitative  measurements  of  arithmetic  will  find 

*  Op.  cit. 

\  Educational  Review,  December,  1909. 

196 


SOCIAL  IDEAL   IN   THE   CURRICULUM 

concrete  application  in  every  step  of  the  industrial  proc- 
ess, from  the  first  step  of  production  of  the  raw  ma- 
terials to  the  end  of  the  series,  when  goods  are  turned 
to  practical  use.  How  much,  how  many  times,  how 
often,  in  what  proportion,  at  what  cost,  are  questions 
which  must  be  answered  by  the  child  at  every  turn.  The 
computations  called  for  in  the  manufacture,  transporta- 
tion, and  final  distribution  of  any  commodity  are  in  daily 
use  in  trade  and  commerce,  and  should  be  the  staple  re- 
quirement of  the  school.  Nothing  will  vitalize  the  study 
of  arithmetic  more  than  to  create  in  the  school  a  need 
for  quantitative  measurement  and  for  the  employment  of 
business  methods  in  business  aflFairs. 

Such  a  situation  suggests  clearly  the  place  and  scope 
of  commercial  training  in  the  upper  grades  or  high 
school  for  those  who  are  in  training  for  commercial  vo- 
cations. The  natural  distribution  of  metals,  fuels,  clays, 
and  other  earth  materials,  the  climate  and  physiographic 
conditions  which  determine  the  location,  amount,  char- 
acter, and  availability  of  our  flora  and  fauna,  the  factors 
which  control  transportation  by  land  and  water — these 
are  problems  in  geography  which  become  concrete  and 
vital  in  the  study  of  industries.  The  correlations  are  so 
obvious  that  only  a  stupid  teacher  can  miss  them. 

In  nature  study  we  shall  find  a  real  place  for  the  ele- 
ments of  agriculture  and  forestry;  no  longer  aimless 
meandering  in  any  scientific  field,  but  definite  attention 
to  those  occupations  concerned  with  the  production  of 
materials  good  for  food,  clothing,  and  shelter,  the  con- 
ditions calculated  to  give  best  results,  and  the  resistance 
which  men  meet  in  doing  their  work.  The  growing  of 
any  crop,  even  in  a  window  garden,  will  epitomize  the 
farmer's  labors  in  tilling  the  soil,  supplying  plant  food, 
utilizing  light,   heat,  and   air,   overcoming  disease  and 

197 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

insect  pests,  and  reaping  his  harvest.  Every  step  takes 
on  new  meaning  when  the  learner  sees  its  place  in  the 
series  of  operations  culminating  in  the  commercial  food 
supply  of  his  own  community,  its  sanitary  regulation  and 
domestic  consumption. 

The  elements  of  physiology  and  hygiene,  and  of 
physics  and  chemistry,  are  also  called  into  requisition; 
they  are  all  indispensable  in  fixing  values  of  industrial 
products  and  determining  economy  in  technical  opera- 
tion. What  makes  for  hygienic  living  is  as  well  worth 
knowing  from  the  economic  standpoint  as  what  mechani- 
cal appliance  will  most  increase  the  output.  A  proper 
study  of  the  industries,  therefore,  I  contend,  will  bring 
about  a  unified  and  closely  correlated  course  in  the  bio- 
logical and  physical  sciences  by  way  of  supplying  the 
information  wanted  by  the  child  in  adjusting  himself  to 
the  real  world. 

Conclusion. — Thus  far  we  have  been  trying  to  see 
how  the  school  studies  themselves  may  be  brought 
into  more  direct  relation  to  life.  There  is,  however,  a 
special  phase  of  this  problem,  which  we  must  reserve 
for  separate  discussion.  We  have  had  little  to  say 
of  the  boys'  and  girls'  vocational  interests.  These 
are  really  the  most  important  of  all  the  means  for 
vitalizing  school  work.  In  fact,  it  is  about  the  prepa- 
ration for  a  life  career  that  all  school  activities  should 
ultimately  center.  Fortunately  there  is  no  other  in- 
terest more  keen  in  normal  boys  and  girls,  and  it  is 
on  this  basis,  then,  that  the  most  important  socializa- 
tion of  the  curriculum  is  to  be  worked  out.  This  we 
shall  take  up  in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE  VOCATIONAL  INTEREST  AND   SOCIAL 
EFFICIENCY 

Characteristics  of  a  Socialized  Curriculum. — In  the 
last  chapter  it  was  pointed  out  that  the  socialization 
of  the  regular  work  of  the  school  demands  that  that 
work  be  connected  in  two  ways  with  the  life  of  the 
pupil:  first,  with  his  actual  present  life  and  interests, 
and,  secondly,  with  his  future  life  as  a  working  mem- 
ber of  society.  The  pupil  should  feel  that  his  school 
work  is  real,  because  it  satisfies  his  impulse  to  un- 
derstand the  world  of  which  he  is  now  a  part.  It  was 
pointed  out  that  every  school  study  can  contribute  in 
some  degree  to  this  end.  As  the  pupil  grows  older 
he  naturally  becomes  more  and  more  interested  in  his 
own  future  as  a  member  of  the  adult  community. 
This  interest  in  the  future,  as  fast  as  it  develops, 
should  find  definite  satisfaction  through  the  work  he 
is  required  to  do  in  school. 

Early  Appearance  of  Vocational  Interests. — As  was 
suggested,  these  two  lines  of  connection  between  the 
school  and  social  life  are  not  entirely  separate.  In 
fact,  one  easily  flows  into  the  other.  The  strong  in- 
terests of  childhood  are  the  forerunners  of  the  domi- 
nant interests  of  manhood.  They  furnish  the  basis 
upon  which  vocational  purposes  gradually  come  to 
consciousness  and  develop.    The  continuance  of  child- 

199 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

hood  interests  into  maturity  has  recently  been  studied 
and  reported  by  Professor  E.  L.  Thorndike.  He 
found  a  high  correlation  between  interests  of  children 
in  the  upper  elementary  grades  and  the  interests  they 
possessed  in  their  later  college  years.  There  is  a 
strong  probability,  according  to  this  study,  that  what 
interests  the  child  is  really  an  index  to  what  his  adult 
ability  will  be,  and  forecasts  with  reasonable  accu- 
racy his  vocational  career.  Such  being  the  case,  one 
may  see  how  easily  the  general  interests  of  the  child 
in  the  life  about  him  may  be  utilized  in  connection 
with  the  "motive  for  the  life-career".  As  ex-Presi- 
dent Eliot  well  says,  this  is  a  strong  and  a  lasting  mo- 
tive, and  it  should  be  developed  as  early  as  possible. 
Not  that  the  child  shall  be  encouraged  to  fix  himself 
irrevocably  to  a  certain  vocation,  and  as  early  as  pos- 
sible begin  to  prepare  for  it,  but  rather  that  he  shall 
at  first,  in  a  general  way,  begin  to  look  forward  into 
the  future,  and,  as  he  grows  older,  more  and  more 
definitely.  He  must  feel  increasingly  that  his  present 
work  may  actually  count  in  preparing  him  for  his  life 
work.  This  interest  is  usually  so  keen  that  it  fur- 
nishes the  strongest  of  motives  for  efficient  work  in 
the  upper  elementary  grades  and  in  the  high  school. 

Relation  to  Elimiiiatioii  from  School. — As  is  well 
known,  the  rapid  elimination  of  pupils  from  these 
grades  is  partly  and  even  largely  caused  by  the  eager- 
ness of  children  to  get  to  work.  Some,  it  is  true, 
have  to  work  as  soon  as  the  compulsory  school  period 
is  past,  but  many  do  not  need  to  do  so.  They  could 
just  as  well  stay  in  school  a  little  longer  and  would 
do  so  if  they  felt  that  the  school  were  really  doing 
them  any  good.    As  far  as  they  can  see,  its  tasks  are 

200 


THE   VOCATIONAL   INTEREST 

in  no  way  related  to  this  impelling  motive  of  a  life- 
career,  and  so  they  drop  out  in  the  blind  hope  that 
they  may  find  outside  of  school  what  they  do  not  see 
that  they  are  getting  within.  This  vocational  interest 
should  receive  more  and  more  attention,  as  the  pupil 
advances  through  the  grades,  because  it  is  capable 
of  becoming  one  of  the  most  effective  methods  of 
vitalizing  his  work. 

Inadequacy  of  "General  Training." — We  may  wish 
that  we  might  keep  the  boy  upon  a  general,  or 
purely  cultural,  training  for  a  few  more  years.  But 
it  is  a  condition  we  have  to  face,  not  a  theory.  The 
bald  fact  of  the  case  is,  the  more  general,  cultural 
work  grips  only  a  few  of  the  boys,  and,  in  most  cases, 
not  the  vigorous,  active  ones,  at  that.  When  an  ac- 
tive boy  is  really  interested  in  this  general  work  it  is 
usually  because  he  sees  in  it  a  real  preparation  for  a 
career.  Try  how  it  will,  the  school  cannot  escape  the 
necessity  of  recognizing  the  vocational  interest  if  it  is 
to  hold  its  pupils.  It  might  as  well  cease  to  look  at 
this  interest  as  a  call  to  compromise  with  something 
low  and  unworthy  and  frankly  accept  it  as  an  asset  of 
inestimable  worth. 

Aim  of  This  Chapter. — The  object  of  this  chapter  is 
not  a  general  discussion  of  the  problem  of  vocational 
education.  It  is  rather  an  attempt  to  estimate  its 
social  significance  and  to  point  out  the  way  in  which 
the  recognition  of  the  vocational  motive  in  the  school 
and  the  definite  adjustment  of  the  school  to  vocational 
needs  are  parts  of  the  large  problem  of  realizing  the 
ideal  of  social  efficiency. 

Social  Significance  of  Vocations. — First  of  all  let  us 
note  the  social  significance  of  vocations  themselves. 

14  201 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

They  are  natural  products  of  social  progress.  They 
represent  specializations  or  divisions  of  labor  which 
are  made  necessary  by  increase  in  the  complexity  of 
social  life.  Furthermore,  vocations  are  essential  to 
the  maintenance  of  civilized  society.  The  needs  of 
civilized  society  are  such  as  can  be  met  only  by  large 
numbers  of  trained  skilled  workers.  Vocations  also 
have  a  deep  moral  and  intellectual  significance,  both 
for  the  individual  and  for  society.  It  is  of  ines- 
timable moral  value  to  a  man  or  woman  to  have  some- 
thing definite  and  worth  while  to  do — a  work  which 
engrosses  his  attention  and  utilizes  a  large  part  of  his 
mental  and  physical  energy.  This  moral  value  is  espe- 
cially prominent  in  skilled  work.  A  skilled  worker 
acquires  a  certain  sense  of  personal  worth  fulness 
which  is  a  most  important  element  in  the  building  up 
of  a  sound  moral  character,  as  well  as  in  the  develop- 
ment of  a  socially  efficient  individual.  Those  classes 
of  society  which  are  sometimes  called  ''higher",  which 
have  never  felt  the  stress  of  economic  necessity,  tend 
to  produce  many  non-workers  who  show  clear  signs 
of  moral  degeneration. 

The  social  value  of  the  vocation  and  of  vocational 
training  is  clearly  brought  out  in  the  experiments  in 
negro  education.  There  is  no  question  but  that  social 
betterment  has  resulted  to  the  members  of  that  race 
who  have  received  industrial  training.  Booker  T. 
Washington  says:  "From  both  a  moral  and  a  re- 
ligious point  of  view,  what  measure  of  education  the 
negro  has  received  has  been  repaid,  and  there  has 
been  no  step  backward  in  any  state.  Not  a  single 
graduate  of  the  Hampton  Institute  or  the  Tuskegee 
Institute  can  be  found  to-day  in  any  jail  or  state  peni- 

202 


THE   VOCATIONAL   INTEREST 

tentiary.  .  .  .  The  records  of  the  South  show  that 
90  per  cent,  of  the  colored  people  in  prison  are  with- 
out knowledge  of  the  trades,  and  61  per  cent,  are  illit- 
erate." 

What  Eeformatories  Have  Done. — The  experience  of 
reformatories  is  even  more  significant.  A  large  num- 
ber of  delinquents  and  criminals  have  never  received 
training  for  any  lines  of  productive  skilled  work. 
The  best  reformatories,  therefore,  ofifer  opportunities 
for  vocational  training.  The  United  States  Indus- 
trial Commission  on  Prison  Labor,  in  1900,  said: 
*Tn  many  penal  institutions  labor  is  the  essential  ele- 
ment in  the  reform  training  of  the  individual,  and 
through  it  he  becomes  accustomed  to  the  habits  of 
industry,  proficient  in  the  use  of  tools,  and  is  made 
to  feel  that  he  has  ability  within  himself  for  the  earn- 
ing of  an  honest  livelihood.  The  plan  that  is  being 
used  in  some  institutions,  of  allowing  prisoners  to 
look  forward  to  the  certainty  of  being  employed  upon 
a  better  grade  of  work  as  the  reward  of  industry, 
acquired  proficiency,  and  good  conduct  is  certain  to 
lead  to  results  of  greatest  benefit  to  the  prisoner,  to 
the  institution,  and  to  the  state.  The  prisoner's  am- 
bition and  interest  are  aroused,  and  he  is  encouraged 
to  pursue  a  course  which  should  end  in  his  acquiring 
a  useful  trade.  Society  at  large  is  benefited  by  any- 
thing that  tends  to  better  the  condition  of  the  prisoner 
in  the  way  of  improving  his  opportunities  of  earning 
an  honest  livelihood  after  his  release."  * 

The  work  of  the  George  Junior  Republic,  at  Free- 
ville,   N.  Y.,  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  moral 

*  Quoted  by  F.  J.  Leavitt,  Examples  of  Industrial  Educa- 
tion, 

203 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

and  social  value  of  work.  The  motto  of  this  school 
is  ''Nothing  without  Labor",  and  the  practical  appli- 
cation of  this  ideal  has  accomplished  marvels  in  the 
reformation  of  the  delinquent  and  in  building  up  a 
sturdy  robust  character  in  the  morally  weak. 

Vocational  Education  and  Social  Efficiency. — From 
such  facts  as  these  we  turn  back  to  the  problem  of  the 
vocational  interest  and  of  vocational  training  in  the 
regular  education  of  boys  and  girls.  That  training 
for  vocational  efficiency  is  the  most  important  means 
of  training  for  social  efficiency  there  cannot  be  the 
slightest  doubt.  Nor  need  such  a  training  in  any 
sense  be  a  narrow  one.  As  Dr.  Kerschensteiner,  of 
Munich,  says:  "It  lies  within  our  power  to  make 
an  education  for  a  calling  as  many-sided  as  any  edu- 
cation can  be.  Well  nigh  every  calling,  if  treated 
with  sufficient  thoroughness,  naturally  involves  an  en- 
largment  of  the  field  of  conception  and  activity.  Sci- 
ence enters  to-day  into  the  simplest  work  and  incites 
all  possessed  of  the  necessary  gifts  to  develop  their 
knowledge,  their  dexterity,  and  their  initiative.  In- 
deed experience  has  shown  that  the  path  of  early 
education  for  a  calling  may  lead  to  very  much  better 
results  than  the  path  of  early  general  education  with 
no  definite  calling  as  its  goal." 

The  frank  recognition  of  the  vocational  interests  in 
all  children,  the  appreciation  of  these  interests  as 
among  the  most  important  assets  in  the  formation  of 
socially  efficient  men  and  women,  and  the  definite 
organization  of  the  school  studies  from  the  upper 
elementary  grades  through  the  high  school  about  these 
interests  is  one  of  the  most  far-reaching  methods 
within  our  reach  of  realizing  the  social  ideal  in  edu- 

204 


THE   VOCATIONAL   INTEREST 

cation.  The  problem  of  working  it  out  successfully 
in  its  various  details  is  one  of  the  greatest  ones  con- 
fronting the  modern  civilized  state. 

Beginnings  in  the  Elementary  Grades. — Thus  far  the 
students  of  the  subject  seem  to  agree  that  the  begin- 
nings in  the  upper  elementary  grades  should  be  made 
through  acquainting  children  with  the  products  and 
modes  of  present-day  industry.  In  many  schools  the 
study  of  human  industry  has  been  confined  to  a  study 
of  primitive  forms,  for  example,  primitive  modes  of 
weaving,  of  pottery,  and  so  forth.  It  is  unfortunate, 
however,  to  stop  with  these  when  there  is  so  much 
the  children  need  to  know  and  can  easily  learn  about 
these  things  as  they  occupy  men  and  women  to-day. 
The  words  of  Dean  Russell  are  very  pertinent  at  this 
point : 

A  child  should  acquire  in  these  years  a  fairly  well- 
roiinded  conception  of  textile  processes  and  become  fa- 
miliar with  the  most  important  types  of  textile  products. 
Spinning  is  an  important  industry  in  modern  life;  it 
means  yarns  for  all  manner  of  fabrics  made  from  a  great 
variety  of  raw  materials;  it  means  thread  of  all  kinds; 
it  means  cordage.  How  many  of  our  school  children, 
how  many  adults,  have  any  adequate  conception  of 
the  extent  of  these  industries  or  their  bearing  on  every- 
day life?  And  yet  the  processes  are  simple,  and,  by  ac- 
tual demonstration,  supplemented  by  illustrations  cut 
from  current  magazines  or  by  visits  to  neighboring  fac- 
tories, the  lesson  can  be  taught  in  such  a  way  as  to  make 
the  learning  a  delight  and  the  knowledge  a  permanent 
possession.  On  leaving  the  elementary  school  every 
child  should  know,  it  seems  to  me,  the  characteristics 
of  cotton,  wool,  silk,  and  linen,  both  in  the  spun  and 

205 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

woven  forms,  and  have  some  notion  of  their  value  as 
determined  by  the  processes  to  which  they  have  been 
subjected.  A  proper  combination  of  handwork,  the  ap- 
pHcation  of  design  and  the  giving  of  information  should 
produce  the  desired  results  without  strain  and  with  con- 
stantly increasing  interest  in  the  study.  At  the  end  of 
a  high  school  course,  possibly  at  the  end  of  the  gram- 
mar school,  a  girl  should  be  able  not  only  to  make  many 
articles  of  clothing,  but  also  to  discriminate  in  the  choice 
of  fabrics  by  reference  to  what  she  has  learned  in  school 
concerning  the  nature  of  the  several  materials  and  the 
processes  of  manufacture.  .  .  .  Once  accept  the 
proposition  that  this  is  worth  doing,  and  the  time  can 
be  easily  found,  and  some  day  we  shall  have  teachers 
prepared  to  do  the  work. 

Again,  let  me  illustrate  from  another  field — from  the 
clay  industries.  Children  like  to  make  mud  pies.  The 
kindergarten  turns  this  aptitude  to  good  use  in  fashion- 
ing things  by  hand  molding.  Of  late,  primary  teachers 
have  adopted  clay  as  a  convenient  medium  for  expres- 
sion of  art  forms.  The  result  is  thirty  plaques,  thirty 
ink  wells,  or  thirty  vases — all  very  pretty,  decorated  and 
glazed,  when  put  in  a  row  on  exhibition  day.  So  far 
I  have  no  criticism.  My  complaint  is  that  they  stop 
right  there.  The  chief  processes  in  the  clay  industries 
are  very  few:  hand-molding,  turning  on  the  potter's 
wheel,  pressing  into  set  forms,  and  building  up  in  per- 
manent shape,  as  in  cement  and  concrete  construction. 
Why  not,  then,  pass  from  hand-molding,  which  can  be 
approached  through  primitive  types,  to  the  use  of  the 
potter's  wheel?  A  single  demonstration  of  this  machine, 
with  the  use  of  illustrations,  which  may  be  had  in  abun- 
dance, will  give  the  clue  to  the  entire  round  of  the  pot- 
tery industries.    A  few  samples,  varying  from  unglazed 

206 


THE   VOCATIONAL   INTEREST 

earthenware  to  fine  china,  will  complete  the  teaching 
equipment. 

Next  come  brick  and  terra-cotta.  But  who  has  ever 
heard  of  brick-making  in  school?  I  should  like  to  hear 
of  it,  because  it  is  an  immense  industry,  the  products 
of  which  are  visible  on  every  hand — soft  brick,  hard 
brick,  fire  brick,  red  brick,  yellow  brick,  ornamental 
brick,  terra-cotta. 

Why  should  not  our  children  know  more  about  these 
things  than  we  do?  I  venture  to  say  that  ten  hours  of 
instruction  judiciously  spread  over  two  or  three  years, 
and  properly  correlated  with  nature  study  and  geography, 
will  give  to  sixth  grade  children  a  better  appreciation  of 
one  of  the  staple  building  materials  than  ninety  out  of 
every  hundred  adults  have  to-day.  ...  I  might 
illustrate  my  point  by  any  of  the  staple  foods,  by  glass, 
by  woods,  or  by  metals.  The  working  up  of  these  ma- 
terials, the  getting  them  ready  for  use,  do  not  involve 
many  processes.  The  combination  of  processes  is  most 
intricate  and  the  variety  of  products  simply  indescribable, 
but  with  an  eye  single  to  typical  ways  by  which  raw 
materials  are  transformed  it  is  not  impossible  to  leave 
with  twelve-year-old  children  a  lasting  impression  of  the 
modes  of  operation  in  any  industry  and  the  nature  of 
the  most  important  results.* 

Class  Excursions. — In  some  cities  the  class  excursion 
is  an  important  aid  to  bringing  the  children  of  the 
grades  into  touch  with  these  things.  A  recent  report 
of  the  Superintendent  of  Schools  of  St.  Louis  com- 
ments thus  on  the  value  of  the  excursion : 

The  thing  that  the  country  boy  is  in  touch  with  all 

*  "The  School  and  Industrial  Life,"  Educational  Review, 
December,  1909. 

207 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

the  time  the  city  boy  many  times  passes  by  and  does 
not  see.  He  really  does  not  see  the  city  because  of  the 
houses.  He  is  distanced  and  lost  in  the  rushing  multi- 
tude of  things,  and  in  his  confusion  gets  hold  of  very 
little  outside  of  a  narrow  circle  of  experience.  The 
country  boy  is  with  nature  and  grown-up  folks.  He 
just  has  to  know  something  very  accurately  about  cows 
and, horses,  corn  and  potatoes,  about  how  men  work, 
and  what  they  do  with  the  products  of  their  labor.  His 
life  is  more  nearly  participation  in  the  whole  life  about 
him.  The  city  boy  lives  apart  from  his  father's  life, 
and  in  many  cases  from  his  mother's  life.  .  .  .  He 
is  kept  a  child  in  a  child's  world  till  suddenly  he  awakens 
to  the  fact  that  he  is  shoved  into  the  whirl  of  adult 
human  activity,  and  that  he  does  not  know  enough  about 
it  to  help  himself  or  others  well. 

On  the  social  side  the  city  gives  a  much  more  extended 
opportunity  for  seeing  the  range  of  men's  interests  and 
work,  but  the  city  child  cannot  get  at  these  things  by 
himself  as  well  as  the  country  child  can  get  at  the  cor- 
responding interests  in  his  sphere.  The  village  smithy 
stands  with  wide  open  door,  and  the  boy  and  the  smith 
have  no  difficulty  in  getting  acquainted  and  profiting  by 
the  acquaintance.  The  door  of  the  city  business  house 
or  manufactory  is  sealed  to  the  child,  because  nobody  has 
thought  that  he  can  look  in  without  disturbing  the  work. 
In  the  very  place  where  human  life  should  be  richest  in 
its  social  contact  the  child  is  more  shut  out  than  he 
would  be  in  the  country.     . 

These  contacts  and  experiences  that  come  to  the  chil- 
dren by  the  simplicity  of  social  relations  in  the  country 
must  be  brought  about  in  the  city  by  some  organized 
play  of  parents  and  teachers  to  take  children  into  many 
places  whfere  men  are  engaged  in  their  daily  work,  that 
^\  208 


THE    VOCATIONAL    liNTERESi 

the  children  may  know  how  each  contributes  to  his  fel- 
low's welfare,  and  that  they  may  have  some  widened 
experience  to  serve  them  when  they  come  to  choose  what 
they  intend  to  do  as  men.  Excursions  of  classes  for  this 
purpose  are  welcomed  whenever  they  ask  for  admission, 
and  there  is  no  surer  way  of  putting  a  child  in  sympathy 
with  the  life  about  him  or  of  fitting  him  for  intelligent 
participation  in  that  life.  A  number  of  our  schools  have 
realized  during  this  year  the  opportunity  given  by  these 
visits  to  the  industries  of  the  city  for  arousing  the  gen- 
uine interest  of  the  pupils  and  of  broadening  their  ex- 
perience. 

The  quarries  have  told  them  of  the  myriads  of  lives 
that  animated  the  skeletons  now  compressed  into  stone, 
and  of  th6  changes  through  which  this  stone  must  still 
further  go  to  serve  the  uses  of  man.  The  furniture  fac- 
tory has  taken  them  in  imagination  back  to  the  woods 
and  has  shown  how  the  skill  and  art  of  man  have  made 
the  trees  minister  to  his  comfort.  At  the  weather  bureau 
they  have  learned  how  dependent  the  business  of  the 
world  is  upon  the  conditions  of  the  air.  In  the  courts 
and  in  the  postoffice  they  have  gotten  some  notion  of 
the  social  institutions.  In  these  and  other  ways  these 
schools  have  turned  the  seeming  prison  house  of  the  city 
into  a  world  throbbing  with  human  interests  and  full  of 
opportunity  for  him  who  will  open  his  eyes  and  heart. 

Vocational  Studies  in  Upper  Grades. — By  the  time  the 
pupils  have  entered  the  seventh  or  eighth  grade  of 
the  elementary  school  the  work  should  begin  to  be 
differentiated  to  meet  the  more  or  less  definite  inter- 
ests in  various  vocations.  Such  a  diflferentiation  of 
work  should  not,  of  course,  fix  boys  and  girls  un- 
changeably in  certain  vocations.    The  instruction  will 

209 


EDUCATION    FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

still  be  generalized  and  there  will  always  be  possi- 
bilities of  later  readjustments  to  meet  possible  changes 
of  interest  and  enlargements  of  vision. 

New  York  State  Plan.— The  New  York  State  Edu- 
cation Department  advocates  the  following  scheme: 

The  larger  part  of  the  work  of  the  present  two  upper 
grades  will  be  uniform,  but  some  differentiation,  looking 
finally  to  complete  separation,  will  begin  at  that  time. 
Three  distinct  courses  of  study,  or  classes  of  schools, 
will  follow  the  elementary  school  period:  (a)  a  high 
school  system  looking  to  entrance  into  college ;  (b)  busi- 
ness schools  looking  to  work  in  offices,  stores,  etc.;  (c) 
industrial  and  agricultural  schools  looking  to  the  train- 
ing of  workers  in  these  vocations.  This  plan  provides 
that  pupils  in  the  (a)  division  will  commence  some  study 
of  a  modern  foreign  language,  if  they  are  needed  for 
the  literary  and  classical  high  school;  that  in  the  (b) 
division  some  special  commercial  studies  will  be  intro- 
duced for  pupils  headed  for  advanced  business  schools; 
and  that  in  the  (c)  division  special  training  with  tools 
and  in  the  household  and  domestic  arts  will  be  offered 
for  those  who  are  to  go  on  to  the  trade  schools  or  agri- 
cultural high  schools.  This  restratification  will  make  it 
possible  for  pupils,  teachers  and  parents  to  direct  their 
energies  toward  the  work  that  pupils  are  ultimately  to 
do,  and  by  the  time  the  children  have  completed  the 
eighth  or  ninth  year  they  will  find  abundant  opportunity 
to  this  end,  besides  some  enthusiasm  for  a  school  which 
qualifies  them  for  their  lifework,  whether  it  is  profes- 
sional, industrial,  or  along  the  lines  of  business  activity.* 

Its  Value. — The  value  of  some  such  plan  as  this  is 

*  From  Dean's  The  Worker  and  the  State,  pp.  325-6. 

210 


THE  VOCATIONAL   INTEREST 

that  it  makes  a  definite  appeal  to  the  youth's  vocational 
impulse  when  it  begins  to  assume  a  large  place  in  his 
life. ,  It  furnishes  a  real  motive  and  aim  for  his  school 
work  which  he  is  liable  otherwise  to  wish  to  drop 
altogether.  The  presence  of  such  a  motive  is  just 
now  a  most  vital  matter.  The  boy  and  his  later  edu- 
cation, whatever  it  may  be,  cannot  possibly  suffer 
from  his  having  it.  It  will  vitalize  and  render  mean- 
ingful many  things  he  would  not  otherwise  get  at  all. 
Dr.  Kerschensteiner  well  says  that  "education  for  a 
calling  offers  us  the  very  best  foundation  for  the  gen- 
eral education  of  a  man". 

Character-forming  Influences. — The  growing  definite- 
ness  in  a  youth's  vocational  aim  may  become  a  marked 
character- forming  influence,  and  this  is  one  of  the 
reasons  why  an  education  for  a  calling  is  the  very 
best  foundation  for  a  general  education.  The  really 
efficient  skilled  worker  must  be  a  person  of  good  per- 
sonal habits,  prompt,  courteous,  ready  to  learn,  not 
ready  to  take  offence,  always  willing  to  give  to  his 
work  the  full  stint  of  his  ability.  More  and  more  is 
the  business  and  industrial  world  demanding  these 
qualities  of  its  employees. 

When  children  fail  to  acquire  these  qualities  it  is 
often  because  they  have  never  been  made  to  realize 
that  they  have  any  real  connection  with  their  future 
success.  On  the  other  hand,  the  clear  consciousness 
that  one  is  preparing  for  a  definite  vocation  is  usually 
a  powerful  incentive  to  acquire  these  traits  of  char- 
acter. Most  boys  and  girls  who  fail  to  "make  good" 
in  the  work  they  turn  to  are  not  mentally  or  morally 
bad.  They  are  defective  in  their  training.  They 
have  acquired  vicious  habits,  have  never  learned  to 

211 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

he  neat,  punctual,  or  courteous,  because  they  never 
supposed  these  things  mattered  very  much.  It  is  the 
''motive  of  the  Hfe-career''  at  the  center  of  the  youth's 
education  that  makes  these  things  significant,  that 
makes  him  strive  for  a  character  through  which  it 
may  be  possible  to  realize  this  motive. 

The  "general  education",  just  because  it  is  out  of 
touch  with  life,  does  not  lay  the  exacting  conditions 
on  children  that  life  lays  upon  them.  It  is  a  matter 
of  common  knowledge  that  they  are  not  trained  in 
the  habit  of  personal  responsibility  for  themselves 
or  their  surroundings.  Their  school  work  is,  for 
instance,  largely  dictated  by  the  teacher.  The  pupil 
has  little  opportunity  to  develop  his  independent  judg- 
ment or  power  of  choice.  His  own  initiative,  even 
though  crude,  should  be  called  into  play.  The  obedi- 
ence and  courtesy  exacted  of  him  by  the  school  is 
given  grudgingly  because  it  does  not  appeal  to  him 
as  having  any  direct  connection  with  his  success  in 
his  school  work.  It  is  imposed,  as  far  as  he  can  see, 
just  to  please  the  teacher  or  the  principal,  and  not 
because  it  can  be  of  any  personal  use  to  himself.  It 
is  natural  for  healthy-minded  boys  to  react  against 
this  sort  of  control.  Consequently  a  good  many  boys, 
and  girls,  too,  do  not  get  the  training  for  a  dependable 
character  that  they  should  receive  from  their  school 
life. 

The  "Students'  Aid  Committee." — That  a  mere  "gen- 
eral education"  is  defective  in  many  of  these  vital 
points  is  evident  to  all  those  persons  who  have  tried 
to  get  positions  for  boys  and  girls  leaving  the  elemen- 
tary and  high  schools.  The  experiences  reported  by 
the  "Students'  Aid  Committee"  of  the  "New  York 

212 


THE   VOCATIONAL   INTEREST 

City  High  School  Teachers'  Association",*  are  prob- 
ably typical  of  what  might  be  found  in  other  cities 
and  even  in  smaller  towns.  A  boy  who  applied  to  an 
agent  of  the  Committee  for  help  in  securing  employ- 
ment "was  directed  to  call  upon  his  adviser  at  nine 
o'clock  the  following  Saturday  morning  to  go  to 
interview  an  employer.  He  called  at  eleven  instead, 
because  his  father  needed  him  to  go  on  an  errand 
first".  A  young  man  was  placed  by  the  Committee 
in  a  promising  position,  but  he  left  it  after  a  week 
because  of  some  harsh  criticism.  "His  case  is  typical 
of  an  increasing  class.  This  young  man  may  have 
had  too  much  teaching  and  too  little  learning  in  his 
school  life.  He  had  a  ready  mind,  had  acquired  a 
great  deal  of  knowledge,  but  he  had  never  learned  to 
take  pleasure  in  solving  difficulties  for  himself." 

The  Habit  of  Personal  Responsibility. — This  Commit- 
tee believes  that  the  emphasis  in  elementary  education 
upon  amusing  the  pupils  has  cultivated  in  them  the 
disposition  to  expect  everything  to  be  done  for  them 
by  their  teachers,  and  they  never  learn  to  put  forth 
any  effort  to  do  what  they  have  not  been  taught  or 
told  explicitly  to  do.    In  the  words  of  the  Committee : 

Sometimes  a  boy  gets  to  feeling  that  the  teacher  is 
responsible  for  his  conduct ;  from  this  condition  it  is  easy 
for  him  to  develop  the  attitude  which  leads  him  to  do 
things  because  he  wants  to  and  the  teacher  can't  touch 
him.  ...  I  remember  one  such  boy.  We  stated 
his  case  fairly  to  an  employer,  who  afterward  agreed 
to  give  him  a  trial.  After  a  few  weeks  in  his  position 
he  was  tempted  to  play  a  trick  on  a  stupid  associate.    It 

♦  Vide  Report  of  1909  by  E.  W.  Weaver,  Chairman. 
213 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

was  the  kind  of  a  trick  which,  in  school,  would  have 
secured  the  boy  a  holiday  until  his  mother  or  his  father 
could  have  made  arrangements  to  take  a  day  off  to  see 
the  principal,  taken  an  hour  or  two  of  the  valuable  time 
of  that  official  .  .  .  and  generally  punished  every- 
one but  the  offender  himself.  In  the  business  house  it 
needed  only  twenty  minutes  to  help  the  offender  on  with 
his  overcoat,  to  give  him  his  pay  envelope,  and  plant 
him  on  the  sidewalk.  .  .  .  The  power  of  self-con- 
trol, which  is  so  necessary  to  those  who  would  get  along 
with  their  fellows,  had  never  been  developed  in  that  boy. 

A  certain  employer  of  girls  who  were  required  to 
attend  to  machines  states  that  not  over  ten  per  cent, 
of  those  who  apply  for  work  are  employable.  "Be- 
cause of  their  inability  to  keep  their  eyes  from  wan- 
dering away  from  their  work."  The  school  must  de- 
velop in  children  self-control  and  self -direction.  It 
may  often  be  "that  the  assigned  work  employs  their 
energies  so  completely  that  they  lose  all  desire  to 
learn  anything  which  they  are  not  directed  or  re- 
quired to  do  by  someone  in  authority". 

Another  important  quality  which  a  mere  "general 
education"  may  fail  to  cultivate  in  children  is  an  in- 
terest in  their  surroundings  and  a  sense  of  their  re- 
sponsibility for  the  things  they  use  and  handle  in 
school.  They  expect  to  have  things  done  for  them. 
The  story  is  told  of  a  school-board  member,  "who 
could  not  be  made  to  see  why  the  taxpayers  should 
pay  the  laundry  bills  for  the  domestic  science  classes 
of  the  high  schools".  That  member  had  a  better  idea 
than  his  associates  of  at  least  one  thing  that  girls 
should  learn  in  school.  One  other  illustration  may 
be  given.     The  daughter  of  a  wealthy  family,  a  stu- 

214 


THE   VOCATIONAL   INTEREST 

(lent  in  a  university,  had  allowed  her  table  in  the  chem- 
istry laboratory  to  become  untidy  and  dirty.  The 
instructor  asked  her  to  clean  it  up,  but  she  indig- 
nantly replied  that  she  had  not  been  raised  as  a  scrub- 
woman. Whereupon  the  obliging  teacher  cleaned  up 
himself!  These  are  typical  instances  of  what  may 
happen  in  our  schools,  and,  as  far  as  they  go,  they 
indicate  a  failure  somewhere,  partly  within  and  partly 
without  the  school,  to  provide  for  the  formation  of 
socially  efficient  men  and  women. 

Somehow  or  other,  it  must  be  brought  home  to  all 
boys  and  girls  that  all  sorts  of  personal  bad  habits, 
such  as  profanity,  cigarette  smoking,  lack  of  courtesy, 
neatness,  truthfulness,  honesty,  punctuality,  willing- 
ness to  work  and  to  do  one's  best  for  an  employer 
really  do  matter  most  tremendously.  All  of  these 
undesirable  habits  are  acquired,  either  because  the 
youth  has  no  clear  conception  of  an  over-mastering 
interest  or  purpose  in  life,  or  because  he  has  never 
been  made  to  see  that  such  things  make  any  special 
diflference  anyway. 

We  must  not,  of  course,  lay  too  heavy  a  load  upon 
the  vocational  motive  and  upon  vocational  training. 
That,  of  course,  cannot  remedy  all  the  ills  of  our 
social  life,  and  the  defects  of  youth  are  but  part  of 
the  general  defects  of  our  present  social  order.  The 
vocationalizing  of  education,  however,  while  it  cannot 
do  everything,  can  do  much,  and  it  is  this  that  it  can 
do  that  concerns  us. 

About  the  problem  of  vocational  and  especially  in- 
(histrial  education  has  grown  up  a  vast  literature  into 
which  we  cannot  here  penetrate.  It  deals  largely  with 
the  question  of  how  to  organize  and  administer  eflfec- 

215 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

tive  industrial  training.  The  problems  of  evening 
schools,  continuation  schools,  part-time  industrial 
schools,  of  the  proper  relation  of  the  vocational 
courses  to  the  "liberal"  courses  have  not  as  yet,  at 
least  in  this  country,  been  satisfactorily  solved.  The 
field  which  is  here  opened  up  is  a  large  and  interest- 
ing one,  but  it  is  one  which  we  must  pass  over.  It 
is  the  social  need  that  concerns  us.  When  that  need 
is  more  generally  recognized  it  will  be  met  more  ade- 
quately than  it  is  at  present.  A  great  obstacle  to-day 
to  furnishing  all  boys  and  girls  with  proper  vocational 
training  lies  in  the  lack  of  such  a  general  public  appre- 
ciation of  the  need  as  will  secure  hearty  cooperation 
from  all  those  institutions,  industries,  and  individuals 
who  should  share  the  burden  and  the  responsibility 
for  the  undertaking. 

The  "Wasted  Years." — In  considering  the  need  for 
industrial  education  and  its  place  in  the  realization 
of  the  ideal  of  social  efficiency  we  must  not  forget 
that  its  value  is  quite  as  much  in  saving  children  from 
the  so-called  "wasted  years"  of  fourteen  to  sixteen 
as  in  any  positive  skill  it  may  give  them.  These  years 
have  been  called  "wasted"  because  the  youth  is  not 
then  usually  able  to  begin  to  take  up  a  creditable 
trade,  and,  when  he  stops  school  at  this  time  to  go  to 
work,  his  energies  are  very  likely  to  be  exploited  as 
a  messenger,  elevator,  or  delivery  boy,  or  in  some 
other  types  of  purely  juvenile  service.  Such  work, 
with  its  initial  high  wages,  does  not  prepare  him 
for  any  better  job.  As  the  years  go  by  he  finds  him- 
self still  working  for  the  child's  wage  and  no  better 
able  to  take  up  a  man's  work  than  when  he  left 
school  at  fourteen.    In  fact,  he  may  be  much  less  able 

216  • 


THE   VOCATIONAL   INTEREST 

at  twenty  to  learn  a  trade  or  enter  a  vocation,  for  his 
powers  have  been  dwarfed,  and  the  period  of  his  nat- 
ural plasticity  has  passed.  When  he  can  stand  the 
juvenile  occupation  no  longer  he  is  a  likely  candidate 
for  the  army  of  the  unemployed,  those  who  eke  out 
a  precarious  existence  through  occasional  unskilled 
jobs,  or  he  may  even  become  an  unemployable,  one 
whom  no  man  would  willingly  hire  if  anyone  else 
were  obtainable.  As  Bloomfield  says,  this  is  '^not 
necessarily  because  of  their  physical  or  mental  in- 
capacity, but  because  their  economic  backbone  has 
been  broken.  The  wasted  years  have  landed  their 
innocent  victims  on  economic  quicksands.  Attractive 
wages,  with  no  training,  the  illegitimate  use  of  youth- 
ful energy,  long  hours  of  monotonous  uneducative 
work  have  produced  at  his  majority  a  young  man 
often  precocious  in  evil  and  stunted  in  his  vocational 
possibilities." 

The  Massachusetts  Industrial  Commission, — This 
body  found  in  Massachusetts,  a  few  years  ago,  as 
many  as  25,000  children,  between  the  ages  of  four- 
teen and  sixteen,  out  of  school,  and  either  doing  noth- 
ing or  engaged  in  purely  juvenile,  or  **blind  alley  oc- 
cupations". Surely  the  social  waste  involved  in  turn- 
ing this  army  of  children  loose  in  the  industrial  world 
is  tremendous — waste  of  young  life,  of  ambition  and 
energy  that  might  be  turned  to  good  account  if  it 
were  given  two  or  three  years'  further  training  in  a 
vocational  school.  Wasted,  also,  because  of  the  men- 
ace to  society  of  this  growing  army  of  unproductive, 
dissatisfied  men  and  women. 

Compulsory  Vocational  Education. — If  these  young 
people  could  be  required  to  attend  trade  schools  of 
15  217 


EDUCATION    FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

some  sort,  at  least  part  of  the  time,  if  they  are  at 
work,  and  all  of  the  time,  if  they  are  not  at  work, 
the  situation  would  be  very  different.  The  compul- 
sory continuation  schools  of  Germany,  particularly  of 
Munich,  are  organized  and  administered  to  meet  this 
need.  The  fact  that  they  do  not  seek  to  train  merely 
for  a  narrow  skill  but  for  intelligent  craftsmanship 
and  the  keen  joy  in  work  which  goes  with  it,  and, 
more  than  all,  for  the  life  of  good  citizens,  shows  on 
what  broad  social  lines  that  nation  conceiyes  the  prob- 
lem of  vocational  education. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

VOCATIONAL    GUIDANCE    AN    AID    TO    SOCIAL 
EFFICIENCY 

Vocational  Guidance. — The  correlate  of  vocational 
education  is  vocational  guidance.  It  is  not  sufficient 
to  give  boys  and  girls  the  proper  training  for  a  call- 
ing. The  machinery  of  public  education  must  be  ex- 
tended until  it  can  exercise  some  oversight  of  the 
vocational  adjustment  of  those  whom  it  has  trained 
at  such  expense.  As  Bloomfield  says:  "The  social 
protection  of  the  young  ceases  artificially  and  arbi- 
trarily when  the  school  working  certificate  is  granted. 
This  ought  not  to  continue  so.  On  the  contrary, 
should  not  the  few  years  after  leaving  school  be  the 
time  for  the  most  careful  scrutiny  by  the  public? 
While  the  school  authorities  are  given  increasing  re- 
sources to  train  their  charges  for  the  demands  of 
modem  vocational  life,  should  they  not  be  likewise 
empowered  to  deal  with  abuse  and  misapplication  of 
society's  expensively  trained  product?"  * 

And  so  the  theory  and  the  practice  of  vocational 
guidance  have  gradually  developed.  It  promises  to  be- 
come a  valuable  adjunct  of  our  public  school  policy, 
and  a  most  important  means  of  furthering  the  ideal 
of  social  efficiency.  The  work  of  securing  adequate 
vocational  adjustment  involves  many  interesting 
problems  in  the  study  of  human  nature  and  of  the 
opportunities  as  afforded  by  the  modern  community 

♦  Vocational  Guidance  of  Youth. 
219 


EDUCATION    FOR    SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

for  work  of  various  kinds.  And  yet,  in  time  past, 
the  whole  question  of  vocational  adjustment  has  been 
curiously  neglected. 

Conditions  of  Vocational  Success. — Success  in  a  call- 
ing obviously  demands  two  things :  first,  that  it  should 
be  selected  with  reference  to  one's  capacities,  and, 
secondly,  that  these  capacities  should  be  trained  to  be 
as  effective  as  possible  in  the  chosen  direction.  While 
some  attention  has  been  given  to  the  latter  point,  the 
first  one  has  scarcely  been  approached,  hitherto,  in 
a  really  scientific  spirit.  Parents  and  teachers  have 
failed  to  see  that  the  interests,  even  of  the  child,  were 
capable  of  being  studied  with  any  assurance  of  their 
revealing  his  adult  capacity.  The  choice  of  a  life 
work  has  been  left  to  all  sorts  of  chance  circum- 
stances, such  as  the  father's  vocation,  or  the  example 
of  some  admired  and  successful  man.  Children  and 
youths  have  been  allowed  to  drift  along,  postponing 
from  year  to  year  what  might  be  settled  comparatively 
early.  The  result  is  all  sorts  of  pitiful  misfits,  all 
sorts  of  ineffective  applications  of  valuable  energy. 
In  the  present  state  of  civilized  society,  with  its  com- 
plicated divisions  of  labor,  it  is  harder  than  ever  for 
the  youth  to  find  out  where  he  can  best  take  hold  and 
do  a  man's  part.  More  than  ever  does  the  need  ap- 
pear for  wise  counsel  by  those  older  than  himself, 
partly  that  he  may  know  himself  better,  and  partly 
that  he  may  understand  something  of  the  variety  of 
opportunities  open  for  new  workers. 

Vocational  Direction  in  New  York. — One  is  natur- 
ally appalled  by  the  magnitude  of  the  problem.  But 
it  is  none  the  less  needful  to  do  something  to  solve 
it,  and,  when  one  begins  to  look  into  it,  one  is  sur- 

220 


VOCATIONAL   GUIDANCE 

prised  by  the  many  comparatively  simple  things  that 
can  be  done  in  the  way  of  a  beginning.  It  is  better 
to  do  a  little  in  the  right  direction  than  nothing.  For 
some  years  the  "High  School  Teachers'  Association" 
of  New  York  City  has  had  a  "Students'  Aid  Com- 
mittee", which  has  systematically  endeavored  to  se- 
cure the  favorable  vocational  adjustment  of  the  young 
men  and  women  leaving  the  high  schools.  With  this 
end  in  view,  it  has  studied  various  occupations,  se- 
cured information  as  to  the  types  of  young  people 
wanted,  the  qualifications  especially  desired,  the  initial 
wages,  and  the  opportunities  afforded  for  advance- 
ment, etc.  Much  of  this  information  has  been  pub- 
lished in  the  form  of  inexpensive  pamphlets  and  leaf- 
lets, such  as.  Choosing  a  Vocation,  A  Circular  of 
Information  for  Boys,  and  a  similar  one  for  girls; 
Accountancy  as  a  Profession,  and  many  others.  These 
pamphlets  contain  brief  bibliographies  of  books  avail- 
able in  the  libraries  explaining  various  employments. 
The  committee  also  endeavors  to  bring  the  attention 
of  employers  to  "the  fact  that  the  schools  are  willing 
and  ready  to  help  them  select  suitable  recruits  for  their 
service".  It  offers  aid  to  deserving  students  in  secur- 
ing vacation  employment  and  work  in  and  out  of 
school  hours,  advises  with  those  who  are  either  ready, 
or  who  are  obliged,  to  leave  school  about  the  choice 
of  vocations  and  how  they  can  best  fit  themselves  for 
their  chosen  life  work. 

By  a  study  of  "help  wanted"  advertisements  and 
by  occasionally  going  with  boys  to  answer  them,  they 
have  found  that  there  is  great  need  that  these  young- 
sters be  protected  and  advised,  lest  they  fall  victims 
to  unscrupulous  employers.     After  securing  positions 

221 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

for  such  as  want  help  they  follow  them  up  to  see  that 
they  both  do  their  best  and  receive  square  deals. 
When  a  student  has  difficulty  his  case  is  studied  and 
the  help  or  advice  he  needs  is'  offered.  In  the  preced- 
ing chapter  we  noted  some  phases  of  the  work  of 
this  committee  and  some  of  the  problems  that  arise 
in  the  vocational  adjustment  of  the  students.  No 
one  can  read  the  accounts  of  its  work  without  being 
convinced  that  it  is  of  the  very  greatest  social  impor- 
tance and  that  it  is  a  natural  and  necessary  extension 
of  the  public  school  enterprise  in  a  very  great  city. 

The  committee  regards  the  work  as  having  passed 
beyond  the  experimental  stage  and  recommends  the 
appointment  of  a  vocational  director,  who  will  be 
assisted  by  specially  qualified  teachers  in  every  large 
high  school.  These  teachers  should  act  as  vocational 
advisers  in  the  schools.  To  do  this  they  must  be 
allowed  time  in  the  school  program  for  their  extra 
duties  and  be  given  facilities  for  keeping  records  of 
the  students  who  go  out,  and  for  collecting  necessary 
information  as  to  opportunities  for  employment,  etc. 

The  Boston  Vocation  Bureau. — The  well-known  "Vo- 
cation Bureau",  of  Boston,  was  started  in  connection 
with  settlement  work  by  the  late  Professor  Frank 
Parsons.  His  book,  Choosing  a  Vocation,  is  a  valu- 
able work  for  any  high  school  library.  It  contains 
helpful  questions,  by  means  of  which  a  youth  may  be 
set  to  thinking  of  himself  with  reference  to  his  fu- 
ture work,  and  analyses  of  the  personal  characteris- 
tics needful  for  success  in  many  lines  of  work.  Not 
the  least  suggestive  portion  of  the  book  is  the  collec- 
tion of  sample  interviews  of  the  counselor  with  ac- 
tual applicants  for  help.     Along  with  this  book  every 

222 


VOCATIONAL   GUIDANCE 

teacher,  or  at  least  every  superintendent  and  princi- 
pal, should  read  Bloomfield's  Vocational  Guidance  of 
Youth,*  in  which  the  social  need  of  this  type  of  ser- 
vice is  pointedly  discussed  and  many  sidelights  upon 
the  practical  working-out  of  the  idea  in  connection 
with  the  public  schools  are  set  forth. 

Its  Appeal  to  Business  Men. — It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  the  work  has  appealed  so  strongly  to  the 
business  men  of  Boston  that  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, in  the  autumn  of  1910,  held  a  Conference  on 
Vocational  Guidance,  which  was  attended  by  persons 
from  many  parts  of  the  country,  who  wished  to  get 
in  touch  with  the  work  in  Boston.  The  School  Com- 
mittee of  that  city  has  also  invited  the  Vocation  Bu- 
reau to  formulate  a  plan  of  cooperation  with  the  pub- 
lic school  officials.  The  plan  suggested  was  adopted 
by  the  School  Committee,  and,  with  the  assistance 
of  the  Superintendent  of  Schools,  much  interesting 
work  along  the  line  of  vocational  guidance  has  been 
started.  At  the  end  of  a  year  the  Vocational  Commit- 
tee of  school  masters  reported,  for  instance,  that  a 
general  interest  in  vocational  direction  has  been 
aroused  among  the  Boston  teachers;  a  vocational 
counselor  or  committee  of  such  counselors  had  been 
appointed  in  every  high  school  and  in  all  but  one  of 
the  elementary  schools;  vocational  card  records  of 
every  elementary  school  graduate  for  the  year  had 
been  made  and  forwarded  to  the  high  schools ;  stimu- 
lating vocational  lectures  had  been  given  to  many  of  the 
elementary  school  graduating  classes ;  vocational  libra- 
ries had  been  started,  the  cooperation  of  philanthropic 
societies  and  of  prominent  men  in  the  city  had  been 

*  Riverside  Educational  Monograph  Series. 
223 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

secured,  students  had  been  helped  and  meetings  with 
the  teachers  had  been  held.  They  emphasize  espe- 
cially the  need  of  further  enlightenment  of  parents, 
teachers,  and  pupils  on  the  problems  of  choosing  vo- 
cations. The  Parents'  Associations  of  Boston  have 
already  shown  their  interest  in  the  undertaking. 

Vocational  Record  Cards. — The  cards,  prepared  by 
the  Boston  Vocation  Bureau,  are  especially  interest- 
ing and  significant.     They  are  herewith  reproduced :  * 


ELEMENTARY  SCHOOL  VOCATIONAL  RECORD  CARD 

Name  

School  and  Class 

Date  of  birth   

Parent's   name    

Residence    

Parent's  plans  for  pupil 

Pupil  excels  in  or  likes  what  subjects? 

Pupil  fails  in  or  dislikes  what  subjects?   

Physique 

Pupil's  plan  (a  trade,  a  profession,  business) 

Attend  school,  or  work  next  year  ?  

What  school  ?   

Intend  to  graduate  from  that  school  ? 

After  High  School,  what?   

(College — Tech. — Normal — Evg.      High — Trade 
School  or  Spec.  School.) 


*  For  permission  to  reproduce  these  cards  and  the  other 
material  of  the  Boston  Vocation  Bureau,  I  am  indebted  to 
the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Meyer  Bloomfield.  They  are  reproduced 
from  his  Vocational  Guidance  of  Youth. 

224 


i 


VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE 


HIGH  SCHOOL  VOCATIONAL  RECORD  CARD 

First  Year  (Oct.  i) 

Name  

From School 

Entered    

Object  in  attending  High  School?  

Docs  intend  to  graduate?    What  school  after 

High?    

Normal  ?  

Technical  ? 

College  ? 

Preparing  for  business,  trade,  or  profession  ? 

Greatest  aptitude  ?  

Third  Year  (Oct.  i) 

Have  you  changed  plans  since  first  year  ? 

If  so,  what  are  they  ? 


Their  Value. — The  value  of  such  records,  aside  from 
the  information  regarding  each  pupil  thus  made  avail- 
able, is  in  setting  the  boys  and  girls  in  the  upper  ele- 
mentary and  high  school  grades  to  thinking  seriously 
of  their  future.  The  importance  of  early  interests 
with  reference  to  a  possible  life  calling  is  recognized. 
The  suggestion  is  left  with  the  elementary  pupil  that 
his  continuance  in  school  is  desirable,  and  he  is  led 
to  think  that  the  choice  of  the  school  he  is  to  attend 
the  next  year  may  have  a  definite  bearing  upon  his 
later  choice  of   a  vocation.     The   high   school   card 

225 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

which  secures  written  statements  from  the  pupil  in 
his  first  and  third  years  serves  to  keep  the  matter  be- 
fore his  attention  and  furnishes  an  important  stimulus 
to  steadfastness  of  purpose,  not  only  in  remaining  in 
school,  but  in  working  during  his  high  school  days 
toward  some  definite  end.  The  Boston  Home  and 
School  Association  has  endeavored  to  enlist  the  seri- 
ous thought  of  the  parents  as  to  their  children's  fu- 
tures by  sending  to  them  the  following  questionaires : 

QUESTIONAIRE    FOR     PARENTS    OF     HIGH     SCHOOL     PUPILS 

1.  Are  you  going  to  send  your  boy  (or  girl)  to  college? 

2.  If  so,  what  college,  and  why? 

3.  Have  you  in  view  any  occupation  for  which  you  wish 

to  train  your  boy  (or  girl)  ? 

4.  What  occupation  do  you  think  your  boy  (or  girl)  is 

most  adapted  to?    Has  your  boy  (or  girl)  received 
any  training  in  preparation  for  this  occupation? 

QUESTIONAIRE    FOR    PARENTS    OF    CHILDREN    IN    THE 
EIGHTH    GRADE 

1.  Are  you  intending  to  send  your  boy  (or  girl)  to  high 

school  ? 

2.  If  so,  what  high  school,  and  why? 

3.  Have  you  in  view  any  occupation  for  which  you  wish 

to  train  your  boy  (or  girl)  ? 

4.  What  occupation  do  you  think  your  boy  (or  girl)  is 

most  adapted  to?    Has  your  boy  (or  girl)  received 
any  training  in  preparation  for  this  occupation? 

The  following  is  a  sample  of  the  type  of  investiga- 
tion of  various  occupations  undertaken  by  the  Voca- 
tion Bureau  of  Boston: 

226 


VOCATIONAL   GUIDANCE 

VOCATIONS   FOR   BOSTON    BOYS 

Nature  of  occupation:     Shoe  manufacture. 

Date  of  inquiry:    July  i,  1910. 

Name  of  firm 

Address 

Superintendent  or  employment  manager 

Total  number  of  employees :  J        ^     e    . . . .     ,/j 

I      Female    . .  ^,280 
Number  of  boys,  1,200;  girls,  1,000. 

Has  there  been  a  shifting  in  relative  numbers  of  each? 
No,    There  is  a  fixed  work  for  each. 

Pay 

Wages  of  various  groups,  and  ages?  Erraiid  boys,  coun- 
ters, carriers,  14  years  old,  $3.30;  assemblers,  as- 
sistants, pattern  boys,  16  years,  $3.30  to  $6.00; 
lasters,  20  years,  $6.00  to  $y.oo;  other  work,  20 
years  or  more,  $8.00  to  $12.00  for  young  men  in 
early  employment. 

Wages  at  beginning?    $3.50  to  $6.00. 

Seasonal?    By  year. 

Hours  per  day?  7:50  a.m.  to  5:30  p.m.  To  12  m.  on 
each  Saturday  in  summer.    One  hour  nooning. 

Rate  of  increase?  This  is  very  irregular,  averaging 
$1.00. 

(a)  On  what  dependent?    Not  at  all  on  age,  but  on 

ability  and  position  filled,  or  on  increase  in  skill 
in  a  certain  process. 

(b)  Time  or  piece  payment,  any  premiums  or  bonus? 

66   per   cent,   payment.     Premium    on   certain 
lines  for  quality  and  quantity  of  work,  neatness 
of  departments,  etc. 
227 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

Boys 

How  are  boys  secured?  By  application  to  firm,  by  ad- 
vertising, and  by  employees.  It  is  impossible  to  Und 
enough. 

Their  ages?    Fourteen  years  and  up. 

Previous  jobs?  Nearly  all  boys  come  into  this  industry 
from  school.  A  few  come  from  other  shoe  factories, 
or  from  retail  shoe  stores. 

Previous  schooling  ?  Grammar  school,  or  a  certificate  of 
literacy,  or  attendance  at  night  school  must  be  pre- 
sented. 

Are  any  continuing  this  training?  Yes.  Where?  In 
public  evening  schools,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  classes,  and 
Continuation  School  in  Boston. 

The   Industry 

A.  Physical  conditions  ?    Most  sanitary,  mith  modern  im- 

provements and  safeguards,  with  hospital  depart- 
ment and  trained  nurse, 

B.  What  variety  of  skill  required?      Sofue  mechanical 

skill.  The  ordinary  boy  of  good  sense  can  easily 
learn  all  processes. 

C.  Description  of  processes   (photos  if  possible)  ?     Er- 

rand boys,  counters,  carriers,  assemblers,  assistants, 
pattern  boys,  tasters,  trimmers,  and  work  dicing, 
zvelting,  and  ironing  shoes.  Also  in  office,  salesman, 
foreman,  manager,  or  superintendent. 

D.  What  special  dangers? 

Machinery  ?    The  chief  da/nger  arises  from  careless- 
ness. 
Dust?     Modern  dust  removers  are  used. 
Moisture?    Not  to  excess. 
Hard  labor?    Steady  labor,  rather  than  hard, 
228 


VOCATIONAL    GUIDANCE 

Strain?    Not  excessive. 

Monotony?    Considerable  on  automatic  machines. 

Competrtive  conditions  of  industry?  Nezv  England  is  a 
great  center  of  the  shoe  industry.  There  is  extreme 
competition,  hut  luith  a  world  market. 

Future  of  industry?  The  future  of  a  staple  product  in 
universal  demand. 

What  chance  for  grammar  school  boy  ?  He  would  begin 
at  the  bottom  as  errand  boy. 

High  school  graduate?  In  office  or  in  wholesale  depart- 
ment, to  become  salesman  or  manager. 

Vocational  school  graduate?  Trade  school,  giving  fac- 
tory equipment,  would  be  best. 

What  opportunity  for  the  worker  to  show  what  he  can 
do  in  other  departments?  The  superintendent  and 
foreman  study  the  boy  and  place  him  where  it  seems 
best  for  him  and  for  the  arm.  ^, 

Tests 

What  kind  of  boy  is  desired?  Honest,  bright,  healthy, 
strong.    Boys  living  at  home  are  preferred. 

What  questions  asked  of  applicant?  As  to  home,  educOr- 
tion,  experience,  and  why  leaving  any  former  posi- 
tion. 

What  tests  applied?  For  office  work,  writing,  and 
figuring. 

What  records  kept  (collect  all  printed  questionaires  and 
records)  ?  Name,  address,  age,  nationality,  married 
or  single,  living  at  home  or  boarding,  pay,  date  of 
entering  and  of  leaving. 

Union  or  non-union?     Open  shop. 

Comment  of  employer :  Education  is  better  for  the  hoy 
and  for  us, 

229 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

Will  he  take  boys  sent  by  Vocation  Bureau?     Yes. 

Will  he  attend  V.  B.  conferences  if  asked?     Gladly. 

Comment  of  foreman :  Employment  bureaus  have  failed 
us.  We  look  everywhere  for  hoys,  hut  find  fezv  such 
as  we  want.  The  average  hoy  can  apply  himself 
here  so  as  to  he  well  placed  in  life. 

Comment  of  boys:  We  have  a  howling  alley,  reading 
room,  and  library,  park,  and  much  to  make  service 
here  pleasant.  It  is  something  like  school  still.  We 
mean  to  stay.  Piece-work  will  give  us  good  pay  by 
the  time  we  are  twenty  years  old. 

Health  Board  comments:  Inhaling  naphtha  from  ce- 
ments and  dust  from  leather-working  machines  and 
overcrowding  and  overheating  workrooms  are  to  be 
guarded  against  in  this  occupation.  The  danger  of 
each  injurious  process  may  he  prevented  by  proper 
care. 

The  information  thus  secured  is  filed  on  "white 
cards  when  it  presents  normal  conditions,  on  yellow 
cards  when  the  occupation  is  undesirable  for  any  rea- 
son, and  on  red  cards  when  objectionable  or  danger- 
ous". It  is  also  put  in  narrative  form  and  furnished 
to  the  teachers  in  the  schools. 

Vocational  Direction  Possible  Everywhere. — The  study 
of  the  work  in  New  York  and  Boston  should  be  very 
helpful  to  school  officers  everywhere.  Not  that  it 
may  be  carelessly  initiated,  but  because  it  is  suggestive 
of  many  things  which  can  be  done,  even  in  small 
towns  and  with  limited  means.  Every  grammar  and 
high  school  principal  can  inform  himself  as  to  what 
is  actually  being  done  in  the  larger  centers.  He  can 
talk  to  his  pupils  and  teachers  of  the  importance  of 
wise  choice  of  a  life  work;  he  can  point  out  the  per- 

230 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

sonal  qualities  which  make  for  failure  and  success. 
He  can  make  a  beginning  of  a  collection  of  books  and 
other  literature  suitable  for  the  use  of  his  school, 
bearing  upon  the  choice  of  vocations. 

He  can  explain  to  them  the  use  of  such  material 
and  direct  them  in  the  reading  of  it  at  proper  times. 
Moreover,  in  almost  every  locality,  there  are  men  and 
women  who  can  be  asked  to  talk  to  the  school  occa- 
sionally upon  the  openings  afforded  by  their  particu- 
lar lines  of  work.  There  is  no  good  reason  why 
parents,  also,  in  every  community  should  not  be  in- 
terested in  these  things,  either  by  questionaires,  or, 
better  still,  through  the  meetings  and  discussion  which 
may  be  made  possible  through  Parent-teacher  Asso- 
ciations. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  enter  into  such  a  subject  in 
greater  detail.  It  is  sufficient  to  point  the  way  and  to 
emphasize  the  whole  movement  for  vocational  adjust- 
ment as  one  of  the  significant  and  necessary  phases 
of  public  school  education  and  an  important  influence 
in  the  practical  realization,  in  a  larger  number  of  boys 
and  girls,  of  the  ideal  of  social  efficiency. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

THE     METHOD     OF     INSTRUCTION     AS     DETER- 
MINED   BY    THE    SOCIAL    IDEAL 

Social  Ideal  Must  Affect  Instruction. — It  will  not  be 
amiss  to  say  again  that  an  educational  program,  defi- 
nitely planned  along  social  lines,  must  not  merely 
recognize  the  social  factor  in  the  external  relations  of 
the  school  to  the  community  and  in  the  activities  of 
the  pupils  within  the  school  itself,  which  lie  outside 
the  immediate  work  of  preparing  and  reciting  lessons. 
It  must  also  extend  the  social  ideal  to  the  studies  them- 
selves and  to  the  work  of  teaching  and  study.  In  the 
three  preceding  chapters  we  have  considered  the 
studies  and  then*  possible  relations  to  life  in  general 
and  to  the  vocational  motive  in  particular.  We  turn 
now  to  the  social  aspects  of  teaching  and  learning. 
These  aspects  are  of  great  practical  importance,  and 
are  quite  as  needful  of  our  attention  as  the  phases 
having  to  do  with  the  subject-matter  itself.  Whether 
the  school  is  to  produce  socially  efficient  individuals 
or  not  depends  very  largely  upon  the  opportunities 
afforded  in  its  regular  work  for  real  social  partici- 
pation. 

Individual    Instruction As    is    well    known,    the 

teacher  is  very  apt  to  expect  his  pupils  to  study  as 
individuals  and  to  recite  as  individuals.  The  class  is 
regarded  as  merely  an   expedient    for   economically 

232 


THE  METHOD   OF   INSTRUCTION 

handling  large  numbers  of  pupils,  and  not  as  in  itself 
a  means  of  practical  value  for  efficient  learning.  We 
hear  a  great  deal  to-day  of  the  need  of  more  individual 
instruction,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  backward  and 
the  very  bright  pupils.  Some  interesting  school  pro- 
grams have  been  worked  out,  with  a  view  to  depend- 
ing altogether  upon  individual  instruction,  or  with  a 
view,  at  least,  of  affording  to  certain  pupils  a  large 
amount  of  personal  attention.  We  should  not  fail 
to  recognize  the  value  of  all  such  efforts.  There  is 
no  doubt  much  need  in  all  schools  for  just  this  sort 
of  thing.  The  difficulties  which  pupils  have  in  their 
work  are,  in  the  last  analysis,  individual  difficulties. 
Moreover,  all  pupils  cannot  go  at  the  same  rate,  and 
it  is  right  that  each  one  should  make  the  best  progress 
he  can.  The  bright  pupil  should  not  be  held  back 
simply  to  keep  a  more  slowly  moving  class  uniform. 
Nor  should  the  slower  pupil  be  hurried  ahead  to  keep 
up  with  his  class,  whether  he  comprehends  the  work 
the  class  is  doing  or  not.  In  the  latter  case  the  result 
is  almost  inevitable  that  the  pupil  will  fail  of  promo- 
tion and  will  be  obliged  to  repeat  the  work  of  his 
grade,  going  again  over  what  he  may  know,  as  well 
as  over  what  he  may  not  know.  What  such  a  pupil 
needs  is  either  to  go  at  a  slower  rate  in  the  first  place 
or  to  be  given  the  indizndual  assistance  he  needs  so 
that  he  may  be  able  to  keep  up  zi/ith  his  class. 

Socialized  Instruction. — Let  us,  then,  recognize  to  the 
full  the  need  of  individual  instruction.  But,  along 
with  this,  we  must  not  neglect  also  the  social  phases 
of  instruction.  The  exceptionally  backward  and  the 
exceptionally  bright  pupils  will  receive  quite  as  posi- 
tive benefits  from  group  work  and  from  participation 
l«  233 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

in  a  class  as  will  the  ordinary  pupils.  All  alike  will  be 
benefited  by  socialized,  as  well  as  by  individual,  in- 
struction and  neither  can  be  ignored  in  a  good  school 
program.  Here  our  problem  is  to  work  out  the  social 
values  and  to  determine  ways  of  realizing  them. 

Principles  Underlying  It. — First  of  all  let  us  note 
certain  underlying  principles.  All  people,  whether 
children  or  adults,  when  they  come  together  for  any 
sort  of  work  are  bound  to  influence  one  another  in 
very  real  ways.  They  form  what  are  technically  called 
social  groups.  The  work  accomplished  by  a  social 
group  is  not  merely  the  sum  of  all  the  bits  of  work 
done  by  the  individuals  contained  in  it.  It  may  be 
more  and  it  may  be  less,  according  to  the  way  the 
group  works.  The  different  members  may  interfere 
with  each  other y  through  lack  of  proper  coordination 
of  the  individual  efforts.  They  may  also  actually  help 
one  another  to  do  more..  The  latter  condition  is  the 
ideal  toward  which  every  well-developed  company  of 
workers  should  strive. 

Group  Influence. — The  influence  of  one  person  upon 
another  can  be  analyzed  and  illustrated  in  many  dif- 
ferent directions,  but  we  shall  confine  ourselves  defi- 
nitely to  school  work  and  to  learning  processes.  It 
has  been  shown  by  careful  investigators,  for  example, 
that  children  in  various  types  of  mental  and  physical 
tasks  do  better  when  working  in  groups  than  when 
working  alone.  And  this  is  true,  even  when  the  task 
is  seemingly  quite  dependent  upon  individual  effort. 
It  has  been  found  that  in  regular  assignments  the 
saving  of  time  in  group  work  over  individual  work 
is  considerable.  In  specially  prepared  exercises  in 
memorizing  it  has  been  found,  particularly  with  the 

234 


THE  METHOD   OF   INSTRUCTION 

younger  children  of  eight  and  nine,  that  much  better 
resuhs  are  attained  when  they  work  together  in  the 
same  room,  though  not  consciously  assisting  each 
other,  than  when  they  work  alone.  Some  investigators 
think  that  a  higher  degree  of  concentration  of  atten- 
tion is  possible  with  a  group  of  pupils,  even  though 
each  one  may  be  engaged  separately,  than  when  one 
is  at  work  alone.  A  certain  momentum  of  attention 
is  acquired,  which  seems  to  he  efficient  in  resisting  dis- 
tractions which  would  disturb  the  isolated  worlzer. 

It  has  been  suggested,  therefore,  that  the  ordinary 
noises  of  the  school-room  and  the  hum  of  busy  pupils 
are  a  positive  help  rather  than  a  hindrance  to  the  in- 
dividual worker.  The  pupils  in  a  class,  even  though 
they  appear  to  be  occupied  separately,  are  really  "in 
a  sort  of  mental  rapport;  they  hear,  see,  and  know 
continually  what  the  others  are  doing,  and,  thus,  real 
class  work  is  not  a  mere  case  of  individuals  working 
together,  and  their  performance  the  summation  of 
the  work  of  many  individuals;  but  there  is  a  sort  of 
class  spirit,  so  that,  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word,  one 
can  speak  of  a  group  performance,  which  may  be 
compared  with  an  individual  performance.  The  pupils 
are  members  of  a  community  of  workers.  The  indi- 
vidual working  by  himself  is  a  different  person.  .  .  . 
The  child  studying  school  tasks  at  home  is  relatively 
isolated ;  in  the  class  he  is  one  of  a  social  group  with 
common  aims."  * 

In  one  experiment  it  was  found  that  the  pupils  did 

*  Professor  W.  H.  Burnham,  "The  Group  as  a  Stimulus  to 
Mental  Activity,"  Science,  N.  S.,  Vol.  13,  pp.  761-766.  The 
data  in  all  these  paragraphs  is  drawn  largely  from  the  above 
article. 

235 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

not  do  as  well  in  a  test  when  the  teacher  was  present. 
This  suggests  an  interesting  question:  Why  should 
the  teacher  have  been  a  disturbing  factor?  It  may 
have  been  due  to  a  common  attitude  pupils  have 
toward  their  teachers.  They  regard  teachers  not  as 
sympathetic  co-workers,  but  as  task-masters,  as  per- 
sons who  are  watching  them  to  detect  faults  and  mis- 
takes. No  one  can  doubt  that  the  presence  of  such 
a  person  when  one  is  trying  to  do  something  is  a  real 
obstacle  to  good  work.  The  teacher,  whose  predomi- 
nant attitude  is  critical,  renders  the  children  self- 
conscious,  and  more  likely  to  make  mistakes  than  if 
the  attitude  is  friendly  and  helpful. 

Value  of  Group-work. — The  results  of  many  differ- 
ent experiments  clearly  indicate,  then,  that  there  is 
real  value  in  group-work,  and  that  school-study,  other 
things  being  equal,  gives  better  results  than  home- 
study.  These  experiments  do  not,  of  course,  discoun- 
tenance home-study,  for  that  has  its  place  and  is 
often  very  needful  to  supplement  particular  phases  of 
school-work.  What  they  do  point  to  is  the  positive 
value  of  group-activity.  In  recognizing  this  value,  we 
should  admit  also  that  there  are  differences  in  pupils, 
and  that,  while  group-work  is  effective  for  many, 
there  are  really  some  pupils  of  a  less  social  temper, 
and,  possibly,  of  nervous  dispositions,  who  do  not  as 
readily  fit  in  with  others,  and  who  are  actually  dis- 
turbed by  them. 

Why  ValuaWe. — It  would  be  interesting  to  deter- 
mine all  the  factors  which  tend  to  make  group-work 
efficient.  Some  of  them  will  readily  occur  to  the 
reader.  The  mere  sight  of  other  people  busily  en- 
gaged about  us  acts  as  a  suggestion  upon  ourselves. 

236 


THE   METHOD    OF   INSTRUCTION 

Without  doubt  the  factor  of  rivalry  enters  in,  often 
half  consciously,  but  none  the  less  effectively.  The 
forces  which  play  upon  us  when  we  are  engaged  with 
others  are  subtle  and  yet  real.  For  example,  there 
is  the  indefinable  social  atmosphere  of  the  school  it- 
self. It  may  be  one  of  cheerful  industry,  of  optimism, 
of  success,  or  it  may  be  less  stimulating,  if  not  actu- 
ally depressing.  We  always  do  better  when  we  work 
with  those  who  are  cheerful  and  hopeful. 

The  Interplay  of  Personality. — The  play  of  one  per- 
sonality upon  another  in  the  school  is  constant,  al- 
though it  is  not  always  possible  to  specify  every  detail 
of  that  influence.  Some  children,  as  well  as  some 
adults,  are  more  susceptible  to  certain  influences  than 
to  others.  The  bad  humor  of  the  teacher  is  mentally 
depressing  to  some;  others  may  not  mind  it.  In  no 
place,  more  than  in  the  school-room,  are  poise  and 
buoyant  self-control  more  needful.  Every  word, 
every  intonation,  every  gesture,  every  expression  of 
trust  or  of  distrust,  helps  or  hinders  in  some  degree 
the  work  of  the  pupils.  It  bears  a  definite  relation  to 
the  intellectual  work  of  the  pupils  as  well  as  to  their 
general  deportment.  A  teacher  can  do  much  to  in- 
spire his  pupils  with  enthusiasm  for  the  various  tasks. 
Difficult  things  may  be  learned,  hard  problems  solved, 
with  no  great  thought  of  the  difficulty,  because  the 
difficulty  has  not  been  emphasized.  To  tell  a  pupil 
that  he  has  a  hard  task  may  sometimes  be  wise, 
but  not  always.  Sometimes  such  a  thought  prevents 
his  succeeding  with  it  as  quickly  as  he  otherwise 
might. 

An  Example. — A  very  good  illustration  of  the  un- 
conscious influence  of  a  stimulating  social  atmosphere 

237 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

in  learning  is  given  in  Jastrow's  Fact  and  Fable  in 
Psychology.  At  the  time  of  the  Tenth  Census,  ma- 
chines for  tabulating  the  returns  were  used  in  the 
offices  in  Washington.  The  use  of  these  machines 
was  complicated,  in  that  it  required  of  the  operator 
that  he  remember  a  large  number  of  arbitrary  symbols 
and  that  he  be  able  quickly  to  insert  a  key  in  the 
proper  hole,  which  was  one  of  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty.  It  was  thought  that,  after  suitable  training,  a 
person  might  be  able  to  punch  as  many  as  five  hun- 
dred and  fifty  cards  per  day.  This  was  actually  ac- 
complished after  several  weeks  spent  in  practice  on 
the  symbols  and  in  using  the  machine.  This  record 
was  also  surpassed  in  time,  but  with  much  nervous 
strain.  It  was  generally  admitted  that  the  work  was 
hard.  After  some  weeks  about  two  hundred  addi- 
tional operators  were  secured  to  handle  the  rapidly 
increasing  volume  of  reports,  which  were  to  be  tabu- 
lated. These  new  people  were  set  to  work  among  the 
trained  clerks  with  no  preliminary  training  and  with 
no  warning  that  the  work  was  particularly  difficult. 
They  simply  saw  others  working  at  a  fairly  rapid 
pace.  In  three  days  some  of  these  "green"  recruits 
had  caught  up  with  the  "old  hands",  and  the  first 
records  were  soon  broken.  Before  the  end  of  the 
work,  as  many  as  two  thousand  two  hundred  and 
thirty  cards  in  one  day  were  punched  by  one  of  the 
new  clerks,  with  no  evidence  of  the  nervous  strain 
which  was  at  first  so  marked  in  the  others.  What- 
ever else  this  incident  may  illustrate,  it  shows  at  least 
the  power  over  a  learner  of  a  social  atmosphere  in 
which  the  thing  to  be  learned  is  going  on  smoothly 
and  efficiently.     The  best  condition  of  learning  many 

238 


THE   METHUD    UF    LNSTKUCIlUN 

things  quickly  is  merely  to  be  with,  and  practice  with, 
those  who  already  know  how. 

Higher  Types  of  Group-work. — Thus  far  we  have 
dwelt  only  on  the  mental  stimulus  which  comes  by 
working  at  one's  task  with  others  who  are  also  at 
work  upon  their  own  tasks.  Much  of  the  social  value 
of  school  and  of  class  work  is  of  this  type.  It  is, 
however,  only  the  beginning  of  the  story  of  the  value 
of  group- work.  The  influence  of  one  upon  another 
is  greatly  enhanced  when  there  can  be  definite  com- 
munication, exchange  of  ideas,  and  discussion,  and 
especially  where  the  work  is  something  that  lends 
itself  to  cooperative  endeavor.  The  old  Hebrew  prov- 
erb tells  us  that,  just  as  iron  sharpens  iron,  a  man's 
countenance  is  sharpened  by  his  friend.  This  is  true 
of  all  the  interplay  of  mental  activities  in  a  group  of 
people  who  are  occupied  with  a  common  undertaking 
or  problem. 

Social  Contact  Stimulates  Mental  Development. — It  is 
certainly  true  that  much  of  our  acuteness  of  judgment 
and  of  reasoning  is  gained  by  contrasting  our  ideas, 
through  discussion  and  argument,  with  those  of  other 
people.  The  actual  interplay  of  minds  in  a  good  con- 
versation, or  discussion,  affords  valuable  data  for  ex- 
plaining and  controlling  the  development  of  efficiency 
of  mind  in  the  individual.  What  our  individual  minds 
would  be  like  without  this  social  interplay  from  child- 
hood throughout  life  we  cannot  say,  because  a  com- 
pletely isolated  existence  is  impossible.  But  we  can 
see  the  effects  of  degrees  of  isolation.  We  do  know 
that  one  who  habitually  shuts  himself  off  from  com- 
munication with  others  cannot  attain  a  mind  of  high 
social  efficiency,  and  that  such  a  one  is  usually  marked 

239 


EDUCATION    FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

by  individual  peculiarities  of  questionable  value,  even 
to  himself. 

It  is,  then,  in  communication  and  cooperation  that 
we  find  an  indispensable  means  of  both  individual  and 
social  development.  The  stimulating  power  of  con- 
versation, the  enlargement  of  one's  capacity  for  work, 
the  increase  of  personal  initiative  and  enthusiasm,  and, 
withal,  the  restraining  influence  upon  individual 
caprice,  through  work  with  others,  all  these  are 
marked  characteristics  of  all  social  life  outside  the 
school.  The  problem  of  socializing  school-method  is 
in  large  measure  the  problem  of  adjusting  the  tasks 
so  that  opportunities  may  be  afforded  within  the 
school  which  are  similar  to  those  afforded  in  the 
life  outside. 

Application  to  School  Work. — To  begin  with,  the 
work  of  study  and  of  recitation  must  be  recognized 
by  the  teacher,  and,  if  possible,  by  the  pupil,  as  a  series 
of  social  undertakings.  It  w'this,  in  fact,  even  in  the 
poorest  school,  but  a  value  unrecognized  falls  far 
short  of  the  influence  it  would  have  if  recognized. 
If  it  is  consciously  appreciated  it  may  be  developed 
and  expanded.  In  the  ordinary  study  and  recitation 
of  lessons  the  social  influences  are  largely  of  the 
unconscious  variety  described  in  the  first  part  of  this 
chapter.  They  are  the  influences  which  occur  just 
because  children  and  teachers  are  working  together, 
even  though  at  individual  tasks.  Each  child  is  at 
work  for  himself  and  each  one  displays  in  the  recita- 
tion, perhaps  with  exultation,  perhaps  with  apathy, 
his  own  individual  accomplishment.  But  very  much 
more  would  he  accomplished  if  these  tasks  were  made 
opportunities  for  definite  social  cooperation. 

240 


THE  METHOD    OF   INSTRUCTION 

Value  in  "Outside"  Life. — When  people  work  to- 
gether in  performing  a  task  outside  of  school,  for 
example,  in  building  a  house  or  making  a  shoe,  a 
better  result  is  attained  than  if  they  worked  sepa- 
rately. Nor  does  the  single  person  work  with  any 
less  intensity  because  his  efforts  are  interwoven  with 
the  efforts  of  others.  In  just  the  same  way  could  not 
the  acquisition  of  such  a  subject  as  geography  or 
algebra  be  expedited,  and  could  not  more  actually  be 
acquired  in  a  given  time  through  cooperation  than 
through  depending  solely  upon  individual  effort? 

Are  School  Conditions  Different? — The  critical  reader 
will  at  once  object  that  the  conditions  are  different. 
He  will  say  that  what  each  pupil  gets  he  must  get 
for  himself  through  his  own  efforts.  This  is  true, 
and  yet  it  is  only  half  the  truth.  We  do  not  suggest 
that  any  pupil  shall  work  less.  If  cooperative  work 
meant  diminished  effort  for  each  one,  there  would  be 
no  profit  in  it.  But  when  all  minds  are  active,  when 
each  one  is  contributing  something  to  the  solution  of 
the  difficulty  or  to  the  development  of  the  point,  then 
the  residt  belongs  to  all  alike,  all  alike  profit  by  it; 
each  one  has  not  only  the  result  of  his  own  endeavor, 
but  he  shares  also  in  what  the  others  have  contributed. 
The  tendency  to  depreciate  cooperation  in  school  tasks 
grows  out  of  distorted  forms  of  cooperation,  where, 
for  instance,  one  pupil  does  all  the  thinking  and 
the  others  merely  sit  by  and  attempt  to  absorb — a 
procedure  which  is,  of  course,  of  no  great  educational 
value. 

School  Studies  as  Material  for  Personal  Intercourse. 
— As  has  been  said  by  one  student  of  social  problems : 
"The  scientific  task  to  which  education  should  set  it- 

241 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

self  is  that  of  making  the  subject-matter  of  its  in- 
struction the  material  of  personal  intercourse  between 
pupils  and  instructors  and  between  the  children  them- 
selves, the  substitution  of  the  converse  of  concrete  in- 
dividuals for  the  pale  abstractions  of  thought."  * 
How  can  the  studies  lend  themselves  to  such  a  trans- 
formation? How  can  they  become  material  for  per- 
sonal intercourse?  In  reply,  let  us  remember  that  all 
the  studies,  as  they  exist  in  social  experience,  in  the 
world  outside  the  school,  are  precisely  this.  They 
were  built  up  through  social  intercourse,  and  their 
existence  and  value  for  society  are  dependent  upon 
their  continuing  to  play  a  part  in  the  varied  forms  of 
social  communication  and  activity.  Every  one  of  these 
forms  of  social  experience,  when  crystallized  in  a 
study  for  children,  contains  abundant  material  for  co- 
operative work.  Every  study  contains  sufficient  ma- 
terial for  any  amount  of  discussion  and  interchange  of 
ideas. 

G-eography.— Geography,  for  example,  is  not  a  modi- 
cum of  more  or  less  dry  information  to  be  religiously 
learned.  It  extends  far  beyond  the  covers  of  the 
largest  book.  The  fact  that  some  geographical  in- 
formation happens  to  be  put  in  a  text-book  is  only  an 
incidental  feature  of  the  subject  itself.  With  this 
larger  view  of  the  subject,  the  teacher  finds  manifold 
opportunities  for  each  pupil  to  contribute  something 
of  his  own  to  the  various  topics  taken  up  by  the 
class.  The  study  of  rivers,  of  irrigation,  of  moun- 
tains, of  the  commerce  of  New  York,  of  the  cotton 
industry  of  the  South,  or  of  the  wheat  industry  of 

*  G.  H.  Mead,  "The  Psychology  of  Social  Consciousness 
Implied  in  Instruction,"  Science,  N.  S.   Vol.  13,  pp.  688-693. 

242 


THE  METHOD   OF   INSTRUCTION 

the  North,  are  so  many  chances  for  collective  work, 
and,  altogether,  they  are  subjects  affording  abundant 
opportunities  for  interchange  of  ideas  and  for  general 
discussion.  In  recitation,  these  pupils  are  not  simply 
quizzed  on  what  they  individually  remember  from  the 
same  book.  They  rather  meet  and  talk  together  and 
with  the  teacher  about  what  they  have  found  out,  and 
further  meanings  are  discovered  through  questions  and 
discussions. 

Someone  will  object  that  there  is  a  certain  sub- 
stratum of  geographical  fact  which  each  child  must 
learn  and  be  tested  for  individually.  We  reply  by 
the  question,  is  not  this  mastery  by  each  individual 
of  a  certain  set  of  facts  largely  a  delusion,  even  where 
it  is  most  conscientiously  enforced  by  the  teacher? 
Does  not  the  information  that  is  actually  acquired  and 
does  not  the  thoughtful  attitude  of  mind,  as  far  as  any 
has  been  really  developed,  come  through  the  communi- 
cation and  discussion  rather  than  through  any  isolated 
effort  of  the  individual  pupils? 

Personal  Intercourse  Assures  Mastery. — In  other 
words,  the  making  of  the  actual  subject-  matter  of  the 
text-book  into  ''material  for  personal  intercourse"  be- 
tween members  of  the  class  is  the  very  best  way  to 
insure  its  mastery  by  each  pupil.  What  each  one  gets 
in  this  "give  and  take"  of  conversation  and  discus- 
sion, one  learns  much  more  thoroughly  and  remem- 
bers longer  than  that  which  one  acquires  through  be- 
ing  formally  questioned  by  the  teacher.  His  action  in 
the  class  is  social  participation.  What  he  learns  he 
learns  in  the  normal  way  that  all  people  acquire  in- 
formation outside  of  school.  Moreover,  he  gets  valu- 
able experience  in  social  activity,  and  this  is  fully  as 

243 


EDUCATION    FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

important  as  any  particular  set  of  facts  which  he  may 
learn,  if  not  more  so. 

Exaggerated  Importance  of  Facts. — All  of  us  who 
teach  tend  to  place  an  exaggerated  valuation  upon 
facts  as  such.  We  admit,  in  theory,  that  the  school 
should  teach  facts,  not  because  they  are  good  in  them- 
selves, but  because  they  are  to  be  used,  because,  in 
some  mysterious  way,  the  pupil  should  gain  "power" 
and  mental  discipline.  The  point  here  raised  is  that 
these  desirable  results  are  not  practically  realized  by 
merely  memorizing  information  and  learning  lessons, 
nor  are  they  realized  by  each  child's  working  them 
out  for  himself  alone,  no  matter  how  thoughtful  he 
may  be,  no  matter  how  far  he  advances  beyond  just 
committing  his  lessons  to  memory.  The  learning 
which  brings  to  the  child  that  which  all  teachers  ad- 
mit he  should  really  get  out  of  his  school  studies  is 
the  learning  that  goes  on  within  a  vital  social  medium; 
it  is  that  which  gives  to  him,  as  he  learns,  the  oppor- 
tunity to  use  facts  as  he  is  supposed  to  use  them 
when  he  leaves  school. 

Social  Influences  Always  Present. — It  was  stated 
above  that,  even  in  the  worst  school,  the  social  factor 
enters  into  the  learning  processes.  This  is  simply  be- 
cause none  of  us  can  do  anything  in  conjunction  with 
others  without  being  affected,  at  least  in  some  degree, 
by  them.  But  when  the  positive  value  of  social  inter- 
course is  not  recognized,  it  is  very  apt  to  find  expres- 
sion in  ways  that  hinder  rather  than  help  learning. 
For  instance,  it  is  often  thought  that  the  ideal  school- 
situation  is  the  one  in  which  the  personality  of  the 
teacher  disappears  as  completely  as  possible.  If  the 
pupil  is  conscious  of  the  teacher,  it  is  only  in  the  arti- 

244 


THE  METHOD   OF   INSTRUCTION 

ficial,  unnatural  relation  expressed  by  a  quizmaster, 
or  by  one  who  is  watching  the  pupil  for  breaches  of 
"good  order",  or  to  bring  his  lagging  attention  back 
to  his  work. 

But  Sometimes  Baneful. — There  is  a  social  relation, 
an  interaction  of  minds,  in  the  situation  described 
above,  but  it  is  of  a  low  order.  It  distracts  rather 
than  helps  in  the  work  in  hand.  There  is  no  feeling 
of  friendly  cooperation.  The  pupil  conceives  the 
teacher  as  one  set  over  against  himself,  with  different 
interests  from  his  own.  Since  the  teacher  is  identi- 
fied in  his  mind  with  one  trying  to  make  him  learn 
his  lessons,  he  forthwith  ceases  to  find  his  own  inter- 
ests in  the  lessons,  but  rather  in  various  activities  ex- 
ternal to  his  lessons,  and  even  opposed  to  them.  In- 
stead of  devoting  himself  to  his  assigned  work  with 
all  his  childish  zeal,  he  gets  as  much  of  it  as  he  has 
to,  and  devotes  his  main  energies  to  the  pursuit  of 
other  and  possibly  conflicting  ends.  Even  if  the  pupil 
is  diligent  in  his  work  and  is  praised  by  the  teacher, 
that  approval  does  not  bear  any  essential  relation  to 
the  subject-matter  itself.  It  may  be  only  an  external 
bribe.  It  is  far  different  from  the  real  satisfaction 
and  the  approval  that  come  to  one  in  the  best  types  of 
social  cooperation.  The  satisfaction  and  joy,  for  ex- 
ample, that  come  spontaneously  to  the  boy  who  plays 
a  real  and  valuable  part  on  the  athletic  team  are  far 
more  worth  while.  The  approval  or  the  disapproval 
of  the  captain  of  the  team  and  of  one's  fellow  mem- 
bers is  an  organic  part  of  the  regular  team  activity. 

A  Concrete  Case. — This  enlistment  of  the  child's  best 
energies  in  the  actual  work  of  the  school  studies,  with 
its  attendant  character- forming  influence  and  its  real 

245 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

satisfaction  in  accomplishment,  is  well  illustrated  in 
the  experiment  of  a  history  teacher,  Miss  Lotta  A. 
Clark,  of  the  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  High 
School.  For  the  past  nine  years  she  has  taught  his- 
tory as  a  collective  undertaking  on  the  part  of  the 
class.  We  do  not  suggest  that  her  method  can  in 
every  detail  be  imitated  by  all  history  teachers.  That 
is  a  matter  which  can  be  decided  only  by  study  of 
local  conditions  and  by  the  varying  personalities  of  the 
teachers  themselves.  We  feel  sure,  however,  that 
every  teacher  can  get  many  practical  suggestions  from 
Miss  Clark's  method.  It  is  a  concrete  illustration  of 
how  at  least  one  teacher  made  the  subject  she  was 
teaching  "material  of  personal  intercourse"  between 
pupils.  It  is  the  spirit  of  such  undertakings  that  is  to 
be  imitated,  and  this  can  be  successfully  done  only  by 
a  study  of  many  actual  experiments  in  the  school- 
room. We  cannot  do  better  than  quote  a  part  of 
Miss  Clark's  account  of  her  scheme  after  it  had  been 
in  operation  for  five  years :  * 

A  History  Teacher's  Experiment 

After  having  taught  history  in  the  high  school  for  six 
years,  I  determined  to  have  the  courage  of  my  convic- 
tions for  one  year,  at  least,  and  to  give  my  pupils  a  fair 
chance  to  take  the  responsibility  of  their  work  and  to  do 
it  in  their  own  way.  Up  to  this  time  I  had  conducted 
my  lessons  in  the  usual  way,  had  planned  the  lesson  be- 
forehand, collected  what  illustrative  material  I  could, 
and  in  the  class  had  asked  the  questions,  explained  the 
difficulties,  and  carried  the  burden  of  the  work  on  my 

*Tke  School  Review,  17;  255 — "A  Good  Way  to  Teach 
History." 

246 


THE  METHOD   OF   INSTRUCTION 

shoulders.  The  pupils  had  answered  the  questions,  but 
rarely  asked  any,  and  had  had  no  chance  to  get  the  real 
benefit  of  being  responsible  for  the  continuity  and  prog- 
ress of  the  work,  nor  to  plan,  investigate  or  discuss  it 
on  their  own  account.  I  determined  that  the  class  should 
be  a  social  group  of  young  people  and  should  have  an 
opportunity  to  do  just  those  things,  i.  c,  to  cooperate — 
to  work  together — and  to  give  each  individual  a  chance 
to  do  anything  which  he  particularly  wanted  to  do. 

It  seemed  impossible  at  first  to  get  a  chance  to  try 
this  group  work ;  the  conditions  in  the  high  school  make 
it  difficult.  Instead  of  having  the  same  pupils  for  five 
hours  each  day,  we  have  a  different  set  every  hour,  and 
they  are  with  us  but  forty-five  minutes.  Some  of  these 
classes  we  see  only  three  times  a  week,  and,  as  a  number 
of  them  are  preparing  for  college  and  normal  school, 
there  is  not  a  moment  to  be  wasted.  Furthermore,  I  did 
not  feel  warranted  in  trying  any  experiment  which  would 
unsettle  the  classes  and  make  them  harder  to  control  in 
other  recitations. 

In  spite  of  all  this,  however,  I  determined  to  give  the 
social  group  work  a  fair  trial.  I  talked  the  matter  over 
with  the  classes,  showed  them  why  the  lessons  we  had 
been  having  were  unsatisfactory,  and  asked  them  how 
they  would  like  to  try  the  experiment  of  running  their 
history  lessons  themselves.  The  novelty  of  the  idea 
pleased  them,  and  after  considerable  informal  discussion 
we  decided  to  carry  on  our  relations  in  the  form  of  busi- 
ness meetings  such  as  any  group  of  people  would  have 
who  had  come  together  to  accomplish  a  piece  of  work. 
A  chairman  was  appointed  from  the  class  and  there  was 
something  of  a  sensation  when  I  exchanged  chairs  with 
him.  He  appointed  a  committee  to  nominate  candidates 
for  president,  vice-president,  and  secretary.    These  offi- 

247 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

cers  were  elected  by  ballot  for  one  month,  and  their 
duties  were  decided  upon  by  the  class  and  written  down 
in  a  simple  constitution.  We  had  an  amusing  time  when 
they  tried  to  decide  what  they  ought  to  do  with  me.  I 
told  them  I  should  do  just  as  little  as  possible  in  the 
class,  in  order  that  they  might  have  all  the  time  and 
opportunity  there  was.  They  finally  decided  to  call  me 
"the  executive  officer,''  with  power  to  exercise  full  au- 
thority if  necessity  required. 

It  was  surprising  to  see  the  change  in  the  whole  at- 
mosphere of  the  recitations  which  this  order  of  things 
brought  about.  The  pupils  were  timid  at  first  and  I 
trembled  for  the  result,  but  after  a  lesson  or  two  they 
became  used  to  it,  and  the  work  went  on  with  far  more 
ease  and  spirit  that  I  had  dared  hope  it  would.  Here  is 
a  brief  sketch  of  the  new  kind  of  recitation: 

( I )    The  president  called  the  class  to  order  and  called 
the  roll. 

(2)  He  asked  for  the  secretary's  report,  which  was 
corrected  by  the  class  and  formally  accepted. 

(3)  The  president  asked  if  there  were  any  unfinished 
business.     If  so,  that  was  taken  up  first;  if  not, 

(4)  The  lesson  of  the  day  was  called  for.  Whoever 
wished  to  arose,  addressed  the  chair,  and  began  to  de- 
scribe the  historical  events  in  the  lesson.  If  he  made  a 
mistake  or  omitted  anything,  another  pupil  who  noticed  it 
arose,  and,  when  recognized  by  the  president,  made  the 
corrections  he  thought  necessary.  Sometimes  these  cor- 
rections were  not  correct,  or  did  not  go  far  enough,  and 
several  others  entered  into  the  discussion.  When  there 
were  several  pupils  on  the  floor  at  once,  the  one  who 
was  recognized  first  by  the  president  had  the  right-of- 
way  and  the  others  had  to  do  the  same  in  turn.  That 
prevented  disorder.    This  part  of  the  Vv^ork  proved  to  be 

248 


THE   METHOD    OF    INSTRUCTION 

of  preat  value.  The  pupils  questioned  each  other's  state- 
ments, and  when  they  could  not  agree  the  point  was  left 
over  as  unfinished  business  until  the  next  day.  In  the 
meantime  they  consulted  authorities  to  be  able  to  prove 
their  points,  and  they  used  their  reasoning  powers  to 
good  advantage. 

There  were  all  sorts  of  unexpected,  interesting  de- 
velopments as  the  work  went  on.  Whenever  difficulties 
arose  we  solved  them  together.  My  opinion  was  con- 
sidered of  no  more  importance  than  theirs.  When  we 
did  not  agree  I  urged  them  to  try  their  way,  so  that  they 
might  have  confidence  in  their  own  judgment  if  they 
succeeded,  or  see  its  weakness  if  they  failed.  Sometimes 
they  elected  officers  who  were  not  efficient  and  who 
bungled  matters  uncomfortably.  The  pupils. suffered  im- 
mediately and  got  some  pointed  lessons  in  civil  govern- 
ment at  first  hand. 

To  tell  all  this  sounds  as  if  it  must  have  taken  a  great 
deal  of  time.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  soon  found  that 
we  had  time  to  spare.  The  time  which  previously  had 
been  taken  up  by  the  teacher's  questions  was  all  saved, 
and  the  pupils  could  easily  recite  in  half  an  hour  what 
it  had  taken  them  an  hour  to  prepare.  The  reports  of 
the  secretary  helped  considerably  with  the  review  work, 
and  as  the  class  grew  more  critical  of  both  the  history 
and  the  English  of  these  reports  the  secretaries  grew 
more  careful,  and  very  often  we  had  reports  read  with 
which  no  fault  could  be  found.  The  roll-call  and  report 
were  sometimes  finished  in  five  minutes,  the  lesson  of  the 
day  in  thirty  more,  and  we  found  ourselves  with  ten 
minutes  to  spare. 

There  were  various  suggestions  as  to  what  we  had  bet- 
ter do  with  the  extra  time.  One  was  that  they  take 
longer  lessons,  and  this  led  us  into  the  habit  of  letting 
17  249 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

them  assign  their  own  lessons,  and  they  almost  always 
took  longer  ones  than  I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  assign- 
ing them.  Another  suggestion  was  that  the  scholars  col- 
lect pictures  and  show  them  to  the  class  during  spare 
minutes.  One  boy  said  he  didn't  have  much  luck  find- 
ing pictures,  but  he  would  like  to  read  things  in  other 
books  and  tell  them  to  the  class.  A  girl  asked  if  she 
might  draw  some  pictures  from  a  book  in  the  library, 
and  another  boy  asked  me  to  get  permission  for  him  to 
take  photographs  at  the  Art  Museum  of  the  casts  that 
related  to  our  work.  We  did  all  these  things  and  many 
more,  and  these  suggestions  led  to  the  richest  develop- 
ment of  all  in  the  work  of  that  year.  They  formed  them- 
selves into  little  volunteer  clubs,  met  at  recess  and  after 
school,  and  considered  what  they  could  do  to  contribute 
things  of  interest  to  the  lessons.  There  were  drawing 
clubs,  camera  clubs,  and  the  club  that  brought  in  pic- 
tures and  newspaper  clippings  and  gave  interesting  ac- 
counts which  they  had  read  called  themselves  the  "Side- 
lights Club."  We  used  the  last  half  of  the  last  lesson 
each  week  for  the  reports  of  these  clubs.  They  all  did 
well  for  beginners,  but  the  work  of  the  drawing  clubs 
was  truly  remarkable.  Never  before  have  I  had  such 
beautiful  illustrative  material.  A  point  worth  noting  is 
that  some  of  the  finest  drawings  were  made  by  the  poor- 
est talkers. 

This  teacher  further  says: 

The  discipline  of  these  three  classes  was  the  easiest  I 
had  ever  had,  and  it  became  almost  unnecessary  as  the 
years  went  on.  .  .  .  And  what  was  the  teacher's  part 
in  this  new  order  of  things  ?  She  was  learning  the  truth 
of  the  statement  that  "no  teacher  is  equal  to  the  dynamic 

250 


THE  METHOD    OF   INSTRUCTION 

force  of  the  class  before  her."  Her  time  and  energy 
were  taxed  to  the  utmost  to  utilize  all  that  the  pupils 
produced,  to  help  to  get  materials  for  them,  to  find  and 
suggest  books  to  be  consulted,  and  to  give  them  credit 
for  the  work  done. 

Even  the  teacher  who  feels  himself  bound  by  the 
most  rigid  type  of  traditional  school  system  will  find 
ways  to  introduce  into  his  classes  something  of  the 
social  opportunity  afforded  in  these  history  classes, 
provided,  of  course,  he  feels  it  is  really  worth  while. 


CHAPTER   XV 

THE    CHARACTER-FORMING    INFLUENCE    OF 
GROUP-WORK 

Broader  Applications  of  Socialization. — We  have 
thus  far  considered  the  social  phases  of  ordinary  class 
work  and  have  pointed  out  ways  in  which  these 
phases  may  well  be  emphasized  and  extended.  The 
teaching  and  learning  within  the  school,  however, 
need  not  be  confined  to  the  study  and  recitation  of 
lessons.  There  are  many  other  ways  by  which  chil- 
dren may  learn  and  be  taught,  aside  from  these  tra- 
ditional methods.  These  other  ways  become  more 
apparent  when  we  study  the  school  as  a  social  group. 
The  most  serious  difficulty  attendant  upon  the  sociali- 
zation of  ordinary  class  work  is  that  it  consists  of 
more  or  less  "set  lessons"  and  dictated  exercises.  It 
requires  much  ingenuity  and  careful  planning  on  the 
part  of  the  teacher  to  secure  the  best  form  of  social 
reaction  under  such  circumstances.  It  can  be  done, 
however,  as  the  history  teacher  quoted  in  the  last 
chapter  has  proved. 

Characteristics  of  Collective  Effort. — A  study  of  vari- 
ous types  of  group-work  reveals  certain  characteris- 
tics which  suggest  the  possibility  of  further  develop- 
ments within  the  school.  In  the  best  examples  of 
cooperative  activity  in  ordinary  life  we  see  people  plan- 
ning and  working  together  at  certain  common  tasks  or 

252 


INFLUENCE   OF   GROUP-WORK 

problems  which  all  feel  to  be  vital.  They  are  drawn 
together  voluntarily  because  each  is  interested,  even 
though  in  a  different  way,  in  the  task  in  hand.  A 
business  enterprise  of  any  sort  is  a  good  illustration. 
A  company  of  people  may  unite  their  efforts  for  the 
purpose  of  manufacturing  and  marketing  an  article 
of  some  sort.  Some  of  them  contribute  the  money; 
others,  inventive  skill,  and  perhaps,  as  in  the  old  days, 
labor  itself;  others  have  charge  of  the  practical  man- 
agement of  the  concern.  Real  life  is  full  of  just  such 
voluntary  undertakings  of  varying  magnitudes.  Their 
success  depends  upon  individual  loyalty,  upon  skill- 
ful planning,  and  upon  concentration  of  effort  under 
proper  leadership.  Responsibilities  of  various  sorts 
rest  upon  each  member  of  the  group. 

Types  of  Collective  Effort. — Now  a  school  which 
prepares  children  for  real  social  efficiency  must  pro- 
vide much  opportunity  within  its  walls  for  boys  and 
girls  to  have  experience  in  just  this  sort  of  thing.  As 
was  pointed  out  in  a  previous  chapter,  the  athletic,  lit- 
erary, and  social  clubs  which  tend  to  spring  up  in 
every  high  school  give  the  students  much  valuable 
experience  in  planning  and  carrying  out  projects  of 
their  own.  But  these  should  not  be  the  only  oppor- 
tunities. In  the  regular  school  program  there  should 
be  more  chances  for  children  to  select  problems  of 
their  own  and  to  have  the  responsibility  of  carrying 
them  out.  Such  chances  would  give  them  a  train- 
ing in  social  cooperation  and  would  develop  in  them 
a  sense  of  personal  responsibility  and  initiative,  which 
the  best  assigned  class  work  can  never  accomplish. 

Professor  Scott's  Self-organized  Groups. — It  was  with 
some  such  need  in  mind  that  Professor  Colin  A.  Scott 

253 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

tried  in  various  places  and  with  significant  results  the 
experiment  of  *'self -organized  group  work."  *  The 
children  in  two  third-grade  rooms,  for  example, 
were  told  by  their  teachers  that  if  there  was  anything 
any  of  them  wanted  to  do,  either  singly  or  in  groups, 
they  might  arrange  to  do  it,  and  they  would  be  given 
a  certain  amount  of  time  for  it  during  school  hours. 
They  were  told,  however,  that  they  must  plan  before- 
hand just  how  they  were  going  to  do  it  and  determine 
how  much  time  they  would  need  to  finish  it.  The 
teachers  reserved  the  right  to  reject  any  plan  which 
they  did  not  regard  as  feasible  or  worth  while.  Un- 
der these  conditions  at  first  only  a  few  groups  of 
children  organized,  but,  as  they  more  generally  under- 
stood what  the  teachers  meant,  and  saw  the  pleasure 
the  first  groups  were  having,  almost  all  the  children 
availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity. 

First,  three  boys  of  eight  or  nine  wanted  to  print, 
and,  after  satisfying  their  teacher  that  they  could  ac- 
tually carry  out  their  plan,  they  were  given  a  half 
hour  on  three  mornings  in  the  week  to  work  in  the 
back  of  the  room.  One  of  the  conditions  was  that 
they  should  work  quietly  so  as  not  to  disturb  the  rest 
of  the  class  which  was  employed  at  the  seats.  Other 
groups  were  organized  to  cook,  engage  in  photogra- 
phy, to  give  plays,  to  typewrite,  etc.  As  time  went  on, 
other  grades  were  given  similar  opportunities  and 
the  experiment  was  even  tried  with  young  women  in 
a  normal  school.  For  interesting  details  as  to  the 
activities  of  these  various  voluntary  organizations  the 
reader  should  consult  the  accounts  in  Scott's  book. 
Social  Education.     We  shall  attempt  here  to  indicate 

*  Vide  his  Social  Education,  Boston,  1908. 

254 


INFLUENCE   OF   GROUP-WORK 

only  some  of  the  social  values  which  such  work 
brought  to  the  children.  Of  course,  the  chance  af- 
forded the  children  to  exercise  their  own  initiative, 
both  in  selecting  things  to  do  and  in  the  requirement 
that  they  make  definite  plans,  was  of  the  greatest 
importance  as  a  bit  of  training  for  real  life. 

Obstacles  Foster  Self-dependence. — All  sorts  of  prob- 
lems, unexpected  to  the  children,  but  just  such  as 
occur  in  real  life,  appeared  in  these  little  enterprises. 
For  example,  too  large  and  unwieldy  a  group  was 
sometimes  formed,  and,  when  they  were  confronted 
with  the  necessity  of  quitting  unless  they  actually  car- 
ried out  their  scheme,  they  arranged  among  them- 
selves to  reduce  their  number.  Furthermore,  the  suc- 
cess or  failure  of  the  work  did  not  depend  directly 
on  the  teachers.  When  once  a  plan  was  approved  the 
children  were  thrown  on  their  own  responsibility  in 
carrying  it  out,  the  teachers  declining  to  interfere. 
If  some  member  of  a  group  did  not  work  harmoni- 
ously with  the  others,  the  group  itself  had  to  deal 
with  him.  Sometimes  such  a  member  was  expelled, 
sometimes  he  was  brought  very  effectively  into  line, 
much  more  so  than  if  the  teacher  had  used  her  author- 
ity to  coerce.  Difficulties  in  the  way  of  getting  ma- 
terials to  use  as  wanted  had  to  be  met  by  the  children 
themselves,  so  also  in  the  proper  distribution  of  indi- 
vidual responsibility.  All  of  these  experiences  were 
so  many  practical  and  lasting  lessons  in  real  social  life. 

Ordinary  School  Work  Does  Not  Cultivate  Responsi- 
bility.— In  the  cultivation  of  the  sense  of  individual 
responsibility  much  regular  school  work  falls  sadly 
short  because  the  teacher  feels  he  must  step  in,  at 
the  first  sign  of  faltering,  with  suggestions.     Or  if 

255 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

the  task  seems  doomed  to  failure,  after  the  pupils 
''have  tried  long  enough",  he  feels  under  obligation  to 
bring  it  to  a  successful  issue  by  taking  hold  himself. 
This  may  be  proper  sometimes,  but  it  should  not  be 
the  invariable  rule.  A  boy  in  the  manual  training 
room  of  a  certain  well-known  school  was  once  asked 
by  a  visitor  what  he  was  making.  He  replied  blithely : 
''I  don't  know,  but  the  teacher  does."  Such  a  pupil 
lacked  the  sense  of  complete  responsibility  for  his  un- 
dertaking that  he  should  have  had. 

This  lack  of  responsibility  develops  into  an  abnor- 
mal dependence  upon  the  instructor.  Too  often  the 
pupils  get  the  idea  that  it  is  the  teacher's  business  to 
interest  them  and  to  get  them  through  their  work  if 
he  can.  It  is  not  for  them  to  exert  themselves  any 
more  than  they  have  to.  While  such  responsibility 
does  rest  on  the  teachers  of  the  elementary  grades, 
the  effort  should  more  and  more  be  made,  as  the 
higher  grades  and  the  high  school  are  reached,  to 
cultivate  a  different  attitude  in  pupils.  In  the  high 
school,  especially,  they  should  feel  that  it  is  as  much 
their  duty  as  the  teachers'  to  take  an  interest  in  their 
work  and  try  to  make  it  successful.  The  history 
teacher  quoted  in  the  last  chapter  apparently  suc- 
ceeded admirably  in  developing  such  a  sense,  and  its 
effect  upon  the  efficiency  of  the  class  work  was 
notable.  , 

Value  of  Failure. — Turning  again  to  Scott's  experi- 
ments, we  may  say  that  the  experience  of  failure  un- 
der certain  conditions  is  as  valuable  as  success.  It 
should  lead  the  children  to  look  over  what  they  have 
done  to  determine  the  causes  of  failure  and  how  they 
might  have  remedied  them.     These  things  they  will 

25^ 


INFLUENCE   OF   GROUP-WORK 

never  realize  acutely  if  they  receive  help  from  the 
teacher  as  soon  as  it  is  apparent  that  their  own  efforts 
do  not  lead  to  success.  When  they  pass  out  into  the 
so-called  "real  world"  they  are  likely  many  times  to 
fail  in  their  undertakings.  They  must,  however,  meet 
such  experiences  with  brave  hearts,  and  know  how  to 
go  ahead  profiting  by  their  earlier  mistakes.  Surely 
any  aid  the  school  can  give  them  in  learning  how  to 
meet  defeat  and  profit  by  it  is  worth  while.  To 
quote  from  Scott:  "It  is  the  democratic  responsi- 
bility to  one's  own  ideals  and  to  others  on  the  same 
social  level,  and  not  responsibility  to  the  teacher,  which 
this  phase  of  work  aims  to  cultivate." 

Cooperation  Develops  Character. — Individual  charac- 
ter building  through  social  cooperation  in  these  self- 
organized  groups  is  marked  and  effective.  In  the 
first  place,  it  is  a  good  thing  for  children  to  have  the 
experience  of  doing  something  worth  while  which 
they  have  planned  themselves.  The  work  a  child  does 
with  enthusiasm  and  with  a  sense  of  self-direction  is 
worth  ten-fold  more  than  the  same  amount  of  directed 
work  done  without  seal.  Not  all  of  school  training 
can  be  self-directed,  but  every  school  program  should 
be  planned  so  as  to  give  some  opportunity  for  it.  The 
reason  why  such  outside  activities  as  athletics,  liter- 
ary and  social  clubs  are  followed  so  enthusiastically 
by  high  school  students,  often  to  the  detriment  of  their 
school  work,  is  that  they  find  here  outlets  for  their 
craving  for  cooperation  with  their  peers  and  for  self- 
direction. 

The  amount  of  information  acquired  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  groups  referred  to  above  was  in  itself  suf- 
ficient to  justify  the  use  of  a  part  of  the  school  hours 

257 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

in  this  way.  Moreover,  the  children  learned  to  look 
at  knowledge  from  a  more  practical  point  of  view; 
they  learned  by  the  very  best  of  stimuli  to  think  and 
plan  clearly,  mainly  in  order  to  convince  and  guide 
one  another  in  their  common  undertakings.  Individ- 
ual children,  who,  if  left  to  work  alone,  were  vacillat- 
ing, learned  the  value  of  steadfastness  of  purpose  and 
of  continued  effort.  The  approval  or  disapproval  of 
one's  peers  in  every  individual  act  was  a  strong  and 
lasting  inducement  to  faithful  work. 

School  Participation  in  Results  of  Group-work. — 'It 
should  be  noted  also  that  many  of  the  things  accom- 
plished by  these  groups  were  of  interest  and  benefit 
to  other  groups  and  to  the  school  as  a  whole,  as  when 
the  boys  printed  menus  or  recipes  for  the  girls,  or 
when  a  dramatic  group  gave  a  play  for  which  the 
entire  room  would  become  the  appreciative  spectators. 
Influence  Upon  Teachers. — -The  experiments  with 
voluntary  groups  in  the  school  have  a  practical  inter- 
est for  all  teachers,  whether  they  are  able  to  try  any- 
thing of  a  precisely  similar  nature  or  not.  In  the  first 
place,  they  may  enlarge  one's  vision  as  to  the  method 
of  learning  and  teaching.  We  all  have  needlessly  con- 
stricted views  of  these  matters.  We  think,  when  a 
child  is  studying,  he  must  be  buried  in  a  book  or 
busied  with  a  pencil.  The  function  of  teaching  we 
confine  largely  to  hearing  pupils  recite  lessons  which 
they  have  learned  from  books.  We  may  strive  to  have 
more  or  less  supplementary  material,  but  this  is  con- 
ceived only  as  illustrating  the  book  lesson.  That  is 
what  we  hold  the  pupils  responsible  for  finally.  Of 
course,  there  need  be  no  question  but  that  the  study 
and   recitation   of  assigned  lessons   is  an   important 

258 


INFLUENCE   OF   GROUP-WORK 

phase  of  school  activity.  A  certain  type  of  continuous 
effort  is  thus  cultivated,  systematic  habits  of  work 
may  thus  be  formed,  a  definite  body  of  information, 
useful  for  later  work,  may  be  gradually  acquired  in 
this  way.  But  such  exercises  as  these,  however  de- 
sirable they  may  be,  should  not  occupy  all  the  chil- 
dren's time.  As  has  been  pointed  out,  this  procedure 
is  apt  to  leave  them  more  or  less  dependent  upon  the 
teacher.  It  is  fully  as  necessary  for  them  to  learn  to 
plan  and  carry  on  simple  tasks  for  themselves. 

A  Common  Complaint. — The  evil  of  having  done 
nothing  but  assigned  work  is  especially  evident  in 
those  children  who  reach  the  upper  grades  of  the 
high  school  and  the  college  and  the  trade  or  technical 
schools.  It  is  a  common  complaint  of  teachers  in 
these  schools  that  the  young  people  lack  initiative  in 
their  regular  work.  They  want  to  be  told  what  to 
do  and  how  to  do  it.  They  show  a  deplorable  lack  of 
power  to  deal  with  simple  problems  for  themselves. 
They  still  want  to  be  "told"  what  to  do  firstly  and  sec- 
ondly and  thirdly.  If  some  explicit  direction  of  their 
efforts  is  not  immediately  forthcoming  they  wait  list- 
lessly and  even  vacantly,  instead  of  trying  to  do  some- 
thing. A  school  training,  no  matter  how  rigid  or 
exacting,  that  leaves  pupils  with  this  attitude  toward 
their  school  tasks  certainly  does  not  contribute  very 
much  to  social  efficiency.  They  may  gain  this  power 
for  self-directed  effort  in  other  ways,  but  the  conten- 
tion here  is  that  the  regular  school  work  itself  should 
lead  more  definitely  toward  this  goal. 

Opportunity  of  the  "Average  School." — Even  the  or- 
dinary school,  pressed  to  the  utmost,  as  it  imagines, 
to  get  through  a  set  course  of  study,  could  afford  to 

259 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

reconstruct  its  program  to  some  extent  along  these 
lines,  especially  when  it  is  realized  that  such  self- 
directed  work  may  do  much  to  enlarge  the  children's 
field  of  knowledge,  as  well  as  develop  their  sense  of 
personal  responsibility  and  powers  of  social  coopera- 
tion. For  one  thing,  the  teacher  can  make  larger  and 
more  systematic  use  of  the  general  knowledge  and 
outside  interests  of  various  sorts.  All  children  come 
to  school  with  scattering  experience  and  abilities  of 
various  sorts.  They  do  not  ordinarily  find  much  use 
for  it  within  the  school.  A  teacher  who  ''stuck"  to 
the  course  of  study  was  once  asked  regarding  a  bright 
little  boy,  who  knew  a  great  many  things  she  had 
never  heard  of,  if  she  noticed  what  a  wide  range  of 
information  he  had,  or  if  he  ever  used  it  in  his  recita- 
tions. She  replied  that  she  had  not  noticed  it.  There 
was  apparently  no  place  in  her  room  for  any  outside 
experiences.  She  saw  no  organic  relationship  between 
everyday  life  and  school  tasks.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
there  should  have  been  abundant  opportunity  for  this 
larger  out-of -school  self  to  function  within  the  school. 
A  teacher  can  make  large  drafts  upon  this  self. 
Pupils  should  be  constantly  expected  to  make  indi- 
vidual contributions,  if  not  in  every  study,  at  least 
in  some  of  them.  Best  of  all,  they  should  be  given 
chances  for  cooperation  in  bringing  to  the  class  ma- 
terial for  class  discussion. 

There  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  groups  of 
pupils  may  not,  if  they  are  encouraged  to  do  so,  think 
of  things  they  would  like  collectively  to  undertake,  to 
find  out  more  about,  or  things  they  would  like  to  do 
together,  which  grow  directly  out  of  their  regular 
studies.     Certainly  these  studies,  if  they  are  worth 

260 


INFLUENCE   OF   GROUP-WORK 

anything  at  all,  should  be  capable  of  suggesting  all 
sorts  of  accessory  activities  of  interest  to  boys  and 
girls.  At  first  the  teacher  will  have  to  take  more  or 
less  of  the  responsibility  of  suggesting  these  possi- 
bilities. But  more  and  more  the  pupils  will  think  of 
them,  especially  as  they  experience  the  joy  of  doing 
things  themselves. 

Proposed  Scheme  Workable. — Our  constructive  pro- 
gram is  not  a  revolutionary  one.  It  is  simply  that  all 
the  factors  in  study  and  recitation  be  given  due 
weight.  Individual  pupils  who  for  various  reasons 
have  fallen  behind  must  be  given  the  specific  help  that 
will  do  them  the  most  good.  Individual  instruction 
will  always  be  needed.  But  there  must  also,  in  the 
very  nature  of  the  case,  be  class  or  group  work.  We 
suggest  that  this  be  appreciated  at  its  full  value.  The 
teacher,  even  though  he  thinks  otherwise,  is  not  deal- 
ing with  individuals  in  his  classes.  All  sorts  of  in- 
fluences play  from  one  pupil  to  another.  It  is  normal 
and  right  that  they  should,  and  these  influences  con- 
stitute important  assets  for  the  skilled  teacher.  If  his 
aim  is  to  develop  the  individual  pupils  to  the  fullest 
extent,  he  can  do  it  best  not  by  neglecting  social 
forces,  but  by  using  them.  If  his  aim  is  the  higher 
one  of  training  socially  efficient  men  and  women,  he 
can  still  less  afford  to  neglect  the  opportunities  await- 
ing him,  on  every  side,  of  utilizing  social  forces. 


CHAPTER    XVI 
THE   SCHOOL   AS    A   SOCIAL   CENTER 

larger  Conceptions  of  Public  Education. — In  each 
chapter,  thus  far,  we  have  constantly  had  in  mind  edu- 
cational processes  as  they  are  ordinarily  understood, 
namely,  those  which  are  concerned  with  the  training 
and  instruction  of  boys  and  girls  in  school.  Educa- 
tion is,  of  course,  a  much  broader  affair  than  this,  and 
one  of  the  striking  characteristics  of  our  time  is  the 
rapid  growth  in  the  public  mind  of  larger  ideas  of 
what  the  schools  may  legitimately  undertake.  Almost 
every  movement  which  has  to  do  with  the  improve- 
ment of  human  conditions  is,  in  one  way  or  another, 
educational.  In  our  study  of  social  meanings  we  can- 
not afford  to  omit  some  consideration  of  these  new 
ways  in  which  the  schools  are  becoming  of  service 
to  society. 

Social  Center  Movement. — The  current  "social  center 
movement"  may  be  taken  as  typical  of  the  many  broad 
educational  activities  which  are  more  or  less  definitely 
associated  with  the  public  schools.  Like  many  other 
"movements",  it  is  not  entirely  new.  It  represents 
rather  an  attempt  to  conserve  and  develop  certain 
values  which  already  exist  and  whose  worth  has  been 
established.  We  have  referred  in  other  chapters  to 
the  desirability  of  the  school's  being  a  center  of  in- 
fluence in  the  community.     This  was  brought  out  in 

262 


THE   SCHOOL   AS   A    SOCIAL   CENTER 

the  discussion  of  the  rural  school  and  of  the  parent- 
teacher  associations.  But  the  point  of  emphasis  in 
both  these  cases  was  upon  the  benefit  to  the  school 
itself  of  such  sympathetic  cooperation.  It  was  seen 
that  educational  agencies  can  accomplish  better  results 
with  the  children  if  they  work,  not  in  isolation  from 
the  community,  but  in  intimate  association  with  it. 

But  whenever  the  school  attempts  to  cooperate  with 
external  social  forces  it  is  sure  to  discover  many  new 
lines  of  service  open  to  it  which  extend  beyond  its 
work  with  the  children.  It  discovers  that  educational 
needs  are  not  confined  to  the  immature  members  of 
society,  hut  that  they  extend  to  every  age  and  condi- 
tion of  adult  life.  Thus,  we  may  say,  the  attempts 
of  the  school  to  enlist  the  active  interests  of  the  com- 
munity in  behalf  of  its  boys  and  girls  have  given  a 
vision  of  still  more  extended  services  in  behalf  of  the 
community.  The  result,  everywhere,  has  been  a  great 
enlargement  in  the  conception  of  the  scope  and  func- 
tion of  public  education. 

According  to  this  "larger  view",  the  influence  of 
the  school  should  extend  out  in  many  directions  into 
the  surrounding  community.  It  should  radiate  a 
wholesome  social  life,  the  scope  of  its  efforts  should 
be  broadened  until  old  as  well  as  young  may  have 
their  intellectual  life  quickened  and  refreshed.  In- 
deed, an  educational  scheme  animated  by  the  ideal 
of  social  efficiency  cannot  afford  to  neglect  these 
larger  social  services.  If  it  should  confine  its  efforts 
to  the  children  it  would  soon  discover  that  much  of 
its  best  work  is  dissipated  and  lost  through  the  un- 
leavened community  life  into  which  these  children 
are  thrust  when  they  leave  school.     Moreover,  for  its 

263 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

own  sake,  the  community  must  needs  be  infused  with 
better  social  ideals.  Everywhere  there  are  imperfec- 
tions of  adjustment  that  may  be  relieved  by  the  schools 
thus  reaching  out  and  showing  people  how  to  do  what 
they  usually  feel  the  need  of  but  which  they  are 
often  unable  to  realize  because  of  lack  of  suitable 
leadership. 

Its  Association  with  Scliools. — Perhaps  the  social  cen- 
ter movement,  in  the  beginning,  tended  to  be  asso- 
ciated with  the  school  because  the  school  plant  itself 
is  public  property  and  there  seemed  no  good  reason 
why  the  public  should  not  freely  use  it  for  all  pur- 
poses connected  with  its  own  betterment.  This  feel- 
ing was  further  strengthened  by  the  tradition,  still 
persisting,  of  the  old-time  school  as  a  community  cen- 
ter. As  expressing  the  new  sentiment  regarding  the 
larger  use  of  the  school  plant,  the  National  Educa- 
tion Association,  in  191 1,  passed  a  resolution  favor- 
ing the  use  of  school  houses  and  grounds  outside  the 
regular  school  hours,  as  recreation  centers  for  parents 
as  well  as  children,  and  their  development  as  "radiat- 
ing centers  of  social  and  cultural  activity  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, in  a  spirit  of  civic  unity  and  cooperation". 
A  social  service  body  in  New  York  says :  "The  com- 
munity should  regard  the  school  building  as  its  prop- 
erty, to  be  turned  to  every  possible  community  use." 
The  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  is  also  cham- 
pioning the  idea  by  "sending  out  bulletins  describing 
the  progress  of  social  and  recreation  center  work 
throughout  the  country".* 

Variety  of  Types. — The  social  center  idea  has  de- 

*  Perry,  C.  A.,  "Survey  of  the  Social-Center  Movement," 
Elementary  School  Teacher,  Nov.,  1912. 

264 


THE   SCHOOL  AS   A   SOCIAL   CENTER 

veloped  in  different  parts  of  the  country  in  different 
ways;  sometimes  under  the  auspices  of  school  author- 
ities and  sometimes  through  outside  agencies.  In 
some  locahties  it  has  been  more  largely  recreational 
and  social  in  its  intent,  in  others  the  civic  feature  has 
been  emphasized,  the  school  houses  being  used,  not 
only  for  voting,  but  also  as  places  where  clubs  may 
meet  for  the  discussion  of  various  public  and  political 
questions. 

The  Underlying  Idea. — Mr.  Edward  J.  Ward,  who, 
through  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  is  now  associ- 
ated with  the  development  of  social  centers  in  that 
state,  did  his  pioneer  work  in  the  city  of  Rochester, 
New  York.  The  central  idea  of  the  work,  as  he  con- 
ceived it,  may  well  be  given  in  his  own  words : 

The  social  center  was  not  to  take  the  place  of  any 
existing  institution ;  it  was  not  to  be  a  charitable  medium 
for  the  service  particularly  of  the  poor;  it  was  not  to  be 
a  new  kind  of  evening  school;  it  was  not  to  take  the 
place  of  any  church  or  other  institution  of  moral  uplift; 
it  was  not  to  serve  simply  as  an  "improvement  associa- 
tion" by  which  the  people  in  one  community  should  seek 
only  the  welfare  of  their  district;  it  was  not  to  be  a 
"civic  reform"  organization,  pledged  to  some  change  in 
city  or  state  or  national  administration;  it  was  just  to 
be  the  restoration  to  its  true  place  in  social  life  of  that 
most  American  of  all  institutions,  the  public  school  cen- 
ter, in  order  that  through  this  extended  use  of  the  school 
l)uilding  might  be  developed,  in  the  midst  of  our  com- 
plex life,  the  community  interest,  the  neighborly  spirit, 
the  democracy  that  we  knew  before  we  came  to  the  city.* 

♦  Perry,  C.  A.,  Wider  Use  of  the  School  Plant,  pp.  272-3. 
18  265 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

Neighborliness  Needed. — In  the  last  words  of  this 
quotation  we  have  stated  the  real  underlying  pur- 
pose of  the  movement,  namely,  to  bring  people  to- 
gether in  a  friendly  way  and  promote  good  fellow- 
ship through  social  intercourse,  wholesome  recreation, 
and  entertainment,  and  an  appeal  to  intellectual  inter- 
ests. There  is,  indeed,  probably  no  more  vital  present- 
day  need,  whether  in  country,  town,  or  city,  than  for 
people  to  assemble  occasionally  in  a  spirit  of  old- 
fashioned  neighborliness.  There  are  various  reasons 
why  this  is  so.  The  interests  of  life  are  becoming  so 
diverse,  old  social  standards  and  moral  restraints  are 
breaking  down,  people  are  moving  about  more  gen- 
erally, large  numbers  of  alien  people  are  constantly 
coming  into  our  midst.  All  of  these  conditions  ren- 
der it  difficult  for  men  and  women  to  continue  to 
know  each  other  in  a  helpful  way.  And  yet  such 
neighborly  acquaintance  is  vitally  essential,  both  to 
our  individual  and  collective  welfare.  We  naturally 
crave  companionship  and  sociability.  Without  it  dis- 
trust and  suspicion  develop.  We  lose  the  feeling  that 
others  are  like  ourselves,  or,  at  least,  not  so  very 
different  from  ourselves.  Such  a  living  appreciation 
of  our  common  humanity,  underneath  diversity  of  oc- 
cupation, religion,  and  social  station,  is  needful  for 
almost  every  phase  of  community  life. 

The  members  of  every  neighborhood,  ward,  or  city 
have  many  common  interests  at  stake  which  can  be 
realized  best  through  just  such  friendly  confidence  and 
mutual  understanding.  There  is  everywhere  the  need, 
for  instance,  of  a  purer  civic  life,  of  better  enforce- 
ment of  law,  of  improved  recreational  facilities  for 
young  and  old,  of  beautifying  the  community  or  city, 

266 


THE   SCHOOL  AS  A   SOCIAL  CENTER 

of  keeping  the  schools  up  to  modem  standards,  of 
wise  poor  relief  and,  withal,  there  are  the  manifold 
problems  of  public  health.  These  needs  can  always 
be  dealt  with  most  effectively  where  people  have  cul- 
tivated the  art  of  general  neighborliness.  Many  of 
the  most  knotty  social  problems  would  be  solved  if 
men  and  women  would  only  get  together  and  learn 
to  know  each  other.  This  is,  in  fact,  the  first  condi- 
tion of  real  cooperation  in  all  those  things  which  con- 
cern their  collective  life. 

People  are  not  generally  bad  or  lacking  in  public 
spirit,  but  when  they  live  apart  they  inevitably  acquire 
distorted  ideas  of  one  another  and  fail  to  appreciate 
other  points  of  view  than  their  own.  Even  the  best 
men  and  women  in  a  community  can  seldom  see  all 
sides  of  important  questions.  Friendly  discussion  and 
exchange  of  ideas  are  constantly  needed  as  correc- 
tives. Real  community  progress  depends  on  collective 
effort.  It  may  not  thus  be  as  rapid  as  a  few  clear- 
headed individuals  may  desire,  but  it  is  bound  to  be 
more  permanent.  Even  the  most  ardent  social  re- 
former has  need  to  exchange  his  ideas  with  his  less 
alert  brothers,  not  merely  for  their  sake,  but  for  his 
own.  To  all  of  these  larger  needs  of  society  the 
**social  center"  has  proved  itself  able  to  minister  in 
very  direct  and  efficient  ways. 

Spread  of  This  Idea. — Country  and  village  communi- 
ties, as  well  as  cities,  are  awakening  to  a  sense  of  the 
value  of  "getting  together"  for  sociability,  recreation, 
and  instruction.  So  much,  however,  has  been  written 
about  the  work  in  the  cities  that  one  may  get  the  idea 
that  it  is  essentially  an  urban  movement,  or  at  least, 
one  may  fail  to  see  how  it  can  be  developed  in  smaller 

267 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

communities.  For  this  reason,  therefore,  we  shall  con- 
clude our  general  statement  of  the  need  and  function  of 
the  "social  center"  by  giving  an  account  of  the  actual 
progress  of  the  work  in  a  small  country  town.  This 
account  should  prove  of  practical  value  in  many  ways. 
It  shows  among  other  things  how  one  community 
"started".  Often  all  that  is  needed  to  get  such  work 
under  way  is  a  clear  idea  of  how  to  begin.  It  shows 
also  what  difficulties  are  apt  to  be  encountered  in  a 
village  and  how  these  difficulties  may  be  met.  It 
shows  what  different  phases  of  social  service  may  be 
undertaken  in  such  a  community.  It  is  significant 
also  in  that,  while  it  originated  to  some  extent  inde- 
pendently of  the  public  school,  it  has  tended  to  come 
into  closer  and  closer  relations  to  the  school,  until  it 
now  promises  to  be  an  accepted  phase  of  public  edu- 
cation in  that  town. 


THE   WEST    BRANCH    SOCIABILITY    ASSO- 
CIATION * 

West  Branch,  Iowa. — The  average  traveling  sales- 
man who  "makes"  West  Branch,  Iowa,  will  be  likely 
to  tell  you  that  it  is  "a  good  little  town".  Its  inhab- 
itants, numbering  six  hundred  fifty,  are,  in  general, 
fairly  well-to-do,  and  the  surrounding  farming  coun- 
try is  exceedingly  productive  and  well  settled.  The 
train  service  to  nearby  points,  for  example,  to  Cedar 
Rapids,  Iowa  City,  and  West  Liberty,  is  very  good. 

*  This  account  was  especially  prepared  for  this  book  by 
Walter  R.  Miles,  M.  A.,  a  graduate  student  in  the  State 
University  of  Iowa. 

268 


THE   SCHOOL   AS   A    SOCIAL   CENTER 

Material  and  Social  Conditions. — The  town  is  well 
equipped  materially,  having  electric  lighting,  water  and 
ice  plants;  an  abundance  of  telephones,  and  paved 
walks,  two  flourishing  banks,  a  town  library,  five 
churches,  four  of  which  undertake  to  support  pastors, 
and  a  commodious  pressed-brick  school  building.  It 
has  always  enjoyed  the  reputation  of  being  a  very 
moral  community.  *'No  saloons"  has  been  its  watch- 
word. Let  us  trust  that  its  reputation  is  not  far  from 
the  reality.  But  what  shall  we  say  of  the  social  side 
of  the  community?  Here  is  the  rub  with  West  Branch 
as  with  the  great  majority  of  country  towns.  They 
would,  most  of  them,  be  delightful  places  in  which  to 
live  if  the  social  conditions  were  different.  As  it  is, 
the  young  people,  many  times  the  older  folk,  feel  that 
they  want  to  go  away  for  their  entertainment  and  good 
times,  and  many  hope  to  move  away  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble. Move  whither?  **0h,  to  the  Rapids,  or  the  City, 
or  any  place  where  there  is  something  going  on."  Es- 
pecially is  this  feeling  present  among  many  of  the 
young  men. 

Social  Life  Undemocratic. — Of  course  there  is 
some  social  life  in  West  Branch.  There  are  several 
clubs  of  various  degrees  of  exclusiveness,  a  few 
lodges,  and,  as  stated,  the  five  churches.  Each  of 
these  groups  of  people  forms  in  a  sense  a  social 
center.  However,  they  are  centers  of  a  very  limited, 
and — ^may  I  say  it? — selfish  nature,  no  one  of  which 
has  much  likeness  in  basis  or  program  to  what  a  com- 
munity social  center  should  be.  The  Sunday  school 
classes  and  young  people's  societies  theoretically  are 
not  exclusive,  but,  practically,  they  work  out  much  as 
the  other  organizations.     All  of  them  have  their  so- 

269 


EDUCATION    FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

cials  and  parties,  which  afford  entertainment  for  per- 
haps a  good  many  when  taken  together,  but  at  what 
duphcation  of  effort!  The  high  school  commence- 
ment and  lecture  course  numbers,  and  perhaps  the 
farmers'  institute,  are  the  only  affairs  that  come  near 
to  touching  the  interest  of  the  whole  population.  No 
one  of  the  clubs,  lodges,  or  churches  is  strong  enough 
in  numbers  or  in  popular  sympathy  and  good-will  to 
undertake  and  carry  out  any  plan  having  to  do  with 
the  town  as  a  whole.  In  fact,  they  all  seem  to  have 
different  ideals,  and  are  usually  conducted  on  the 
same  competitive  basis  as  are  the  corner  grocery 
stores.  Not  one  of  the  organizations  furnishes  even 
to  a  limited  group  of  young  men  anything  in  the 
nature  of  a  lounging-room,  not  to  mention  a  game- 
room  or  gymnasium.  There  are  no  places  for  leisure 
time  but  the  pool  hall,  restaurants,  and  tobacco  stores. 
Planning  a  Social  Center. — It  was  with  a  sense  of 
such  conditions,  which  have,  perhaps,  been  sufficiently 
described  to  be  recognized  by  all,  that  a  group  of  us 
met  at  the  school  house  about  May  i,  191 1.  The 
group  was  not  large — just  seven,  as  I  remember,  the 
principal  of  the  school,  with  two  high  school  teachers, 
two  pastors,  and  two  ladies,  one  the  wife  of  a  pastor, 
the  other  the  president  of  a  local  woman's  club.  There 
was  a  long  discussion  of  the  question  as  to  what  ought 
to  be  done  and  what  could  be  done.  Finally  those 
present  agreed  to  the  formation  ^*of  an  association 
for  the  purpose  of  providing  good  wholesome  enter- 
tainment for  the  people  of  the  town  and  community, 
and  for  doing  general  center  work".  The  following 
simple  constitution  was  drawn  up  and  adopted  and 
officers  were  elected. 

270 


THE   SCHOOL  AS   A   SOCIAL   CENTER 

Constitution 
Article  I 

This  organization  shall  be  called  the  "West  Branch 
Sociability  Association". 

Article  II 

The  purpose  of  this  Association  shall  be  to  pro- 
vide wholesome  entertainment,  promote  good  fellow- 
ship, and  encourage  civic  improvement. 

Article  III 

Any  individual  who  feels  himself  in  sympathy  with 
the  purpose  of  this  Association  is  eligible  to  member- 
ship, and  may  become  a  member  by  signing  the  con- 
stitution. 

Article  IV 

Section  i.  The  officers  shall  consist  of  a  presi- 
dent, two  vice-presidents,  a  secretary,  and  a  treasurer. 

Section  2.  The  president  shall  appoint  such  com- 
mittees as  shall  from  time  to  time  be  considered  need- 
ful. 

Article  V 

Business  meetings  of  this  Association  shall  be  held 
the  third  Monday  night  of  each  month,  at  the  home 
of  the  president,  unless  otherwise  designated.  Any 
five  members  of  the  Association  shall  constitute  a 
quorum  for  the  transaction  of  business  at  a  regular 
or  called  meeting. 

271 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

Article  VI 

This  constitution  may  be  changed  at  any  regular 
meeting  of  the  Association  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of 
members  present,  provided  notice  has  been  given  in 
writing  at  the  previous  regular  meeting. 

By-Laws 

Article  I 

The  time  and  nature  of  each  entertainment  or  so- 
cial occasion  shall  be  determined  at  some  regular  busi- 
ness meeting  of  the  Association. 

Article  II 

Officers  shall  be  elected  annually  at  a  regular  busi- 
ness meeting. 

Article  III 

There  shall  be  an  executive  committee  which  shall 
have  general  oversight  of  the  work  of  the  Associa- 
tion subject  to  the  Association's  direction.  This  com- 
mittee shall  consist  of  the  officers  together  with  any 
others  whom  the  Association  may  see  fit  to  appoint. 

Activity  of  the  Association. — The  activity  of  the 
West  Branch  Sociability  Association  began  with  ef- 
forts to  get  the  townspeople  together.  One  of  the 
very  first  things  was  an  out-of-doors  community  sup- 
per. This  was  held  from  six  to  seven  o'clock,  on  the 
school  grounds,  by  permission  of  the  School  Board. 
The  fare  was  served  on  the  cafataria  plan.    The  roast- 

272 


THE   SCHOOL   AS   A   SOCIAL   CENTER 

ing  of  "wienerwursts**  was  a  special  feature.  Most 
of  the  business  men  and  many  others  came  out,  with 
their  families,  and  found  the  occasion  enjoyable, 
and  they  said:    "Why  have  we  not  done  this  before?" 

It  became  an  unwritten  rule  with  the  Association  to 
have  something  in  the  nature  of  a  social  entertain- 
ment each  month,  unless  there  were  other  provisions, 
such  as  lecture  numbers,  etc.  One  month  we  had 
what  we  called  a  "Dicker  Social".  Each  person 
brought  some  article  which  he  would  trade.  This 
was  used  as  a  method  of  mixing  people.  The  effort 
surpassed  all  our  hopes.  People  traded  with  the 
excitement  of  a  stock  exchange.  Afterwards  they 
were  divided  into  groups  of  fifteen  to  twenty- 
five  for  parlor  games.  Simple  refreshments  were 
served.  Another  month  there  was  an  "Indoor  Carni- 
val". The  business  men  and  their  clerks  came  dressed 
to  represent  their  wares  and  gave  us  a  parade.  This 
was  followed  by  games  and  a  short  home-talent  pro- 
gram. At  another  time  a  "Hobby  Social",  each  one 
riding  his  hobby,  afforded  lots  of  amusement.  A 
series  of  shadow  pictures,  representing  different  well- 
known  individuals  at  their  hobbies,  was  especially 
appreciated. 

These  socials  have  nearly  all  been  held  in  the 
"Opera  House",  as  it  was  not  at  first  possible  to  se- 
cure the  school  building.  Most  school  boards  are  con- 
servative when  it  comes  to  "wider  uses"  of  the  school 
property.  As  the  "Opera  House"  costs  seven  dollars 
per  night,  and  the  Association  is  not  endowed,  it  has 
been  necessary  to  charge  a  small  admittance  fee, 
usually  ten  cents.  The  refreshments  are  not  donated, 
but  are  purchased   from  dealers  and  sold  nearly  at 

273 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

cost.  From  the  first  the  Association's  poHcy  has  been 
not  to  seek  to  make  money,  nor  yet  to  exist  on  charity. 
The  attendance  at  the  social  occasions,  varying  from 
one  hundred  twenty-five  to  two  hundred,  while  not 
as  large  as  might  be  hoped,  is  still  much  larger  and 
more  representative  than  that  drawn  by  any  other 
organization.  They  have  grown  in  popularity  from 
the  first. 

Engineering  a  "Sane  Fourth.". — Another  matter 
which  came  up  for  consideration  soon  after  the  or- 
ganization was  "what  shall  be  done  about  Fourth  of 
July?"  This  is  always  a  hard  problem  for  the  small 
town.  The  business  men,  who  are  the  backbone  of 
the  town,  dislike  to  see  people  go  away  for  entertain- 
ment, for  they  are  likely  to  get  the  habit  of  going 
away  for  trading  purposes  also.  Therefore,  the  West 
Branch  business  men  said  they  would  furnish  some 
good  fireworks  for  the  evening  and  prizes  for  the 
contests,  if  the  Association  would  arrange  a  program 
and  manage  the  details.  The  Association  took  charge 
of  the  Fourth  and  saw  it  through.  All  went  well, 
from  the  automobile  parade  in  the  forenoon  to  the 
last  big  skyrocket  of  the  evening;  people  stayed  at 
home^  and  were  pleased.  The  celebration  was  held 
on  the  school  grounds.  It  was  not  quite  as  sane  as 
was  desired,  but  tended  in  that  direction.  About  fifty 
dollars  were  cleared  at  the  Association's  stand. 

Sponsors  for  a  Chautauqua. — No  sooner  had  July  4, 
191 1,  passed  successfully  than  ''the  advance  man"  for 
a  circuit  chautauqua  appeared  in  the  town.  To  whom 
should  he  talk  in  West  Branch  with  better  chances  of 
a  fair  hearing  than  to  the  Association?  That  busi- 
ness meeting  was  well  attended.     Many  thought  it 

274 


THE   SCHOOL   AS   A   SOCIAL   CENTER 

would  be  foolhardy  to  undertake  a  Chautauqua  when 
it  was  hard  work  to  make  a  lecture  course  pay.  Fur- 
thermore the  Chautauquas  of  nearby  and  larger  towns 
were  frequently  quite  well  attended  by  our  people. 
The  agent  wanted  a  guarantee  of  three  hundred  dol- 
lars. We  came  to  terms  on  a  guarantee  of  two  hun- 
dred ;  the  next  one  hundred  to  go  to  the  company  and 
forty  per  cent,  of  proceeds  above  to  be  given  in  to 
our  local  treasury.  Twenty  signers  put  their  names 
on  the  guarantee.  The  Chautauqua  was  held  and  was 
financially  successful,  the  Association's  part  being 
fifty  dollars,  which  was  set  aside  as  a  Chautauqua 
Fund.  The  program  numbers  furnished  by  this  com- 
pany, however,  all  had  such  a  radical  political  bias 
that  the  community  was  not  well  pleased.  The  Asso- 
ciation did  not  contract  for  a  second  year,  although 
the  company  took  things  into  its  own  hands  and  tried 
to  force  the  matter. 

It  may  be  well  to  continue  the  description  of  this 
"department"  of  work,  as  it  has  come  to  be  called. 
People  were  at  least  pleased  with  the  idea  of  holding 
a  local  Chautauqua.  The  Sociability  Association  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  consider  "the  matter  of  or- 
ganizing a  Chautauqua  Association  of  townspeople". 
Our  committee  reported  August  20,  "the  wish  of  the 
people  is  for  the  Sociability  Association  to  have 
charge  of  such  features".  The  Chautauqua  Depart- 
ment was  then  formally  created.  We  shall  not  dwell 
long  on  the  details  leading  up  to  the  next  Chautauqua. 
Seventy  people  signed  a  paper  guaranteeing  individu- 
ally to  the  extent  of  ten  dollars  each.  We  bought 
some  "talent"  from  a  popular  bureau,  which  treated  us 
very  courteously,  and  we  booked  some  directly.    Our 

275 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL  EFFICIENCY 

Chautauqua  was  thus  independent  of  all  circuits.  The 
business  men  were  glad  to  have  provision  made  again 
for  July  4th.  They  got  together  and  subscribed 
$234.50  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  fine  "Regi- 
mental Band"  for  the  Fourth.  This,  with  ex-Governor 
Frank  Hanly,  of  Indiana,  and  two  baseball  games, 
made  another  red-letter  day  for  the  town.  I  may 
add,  parenthetically,  that  we  had  no  fireworks.  The 
day  was  a  little  saner  than  the  previous  year.  Good 
weather  and  the  appearance  of  all  the  "talent"  as 
scheduled  were  features  which,  no  doubt,  added  much 
to  our  success. 

Managing  the  Lecture  Course. — The  lecture  course 
season  of  1911-12  had  been  managed  by  a  group  of 
business  men  and  resulted  in  a  sixty-dollar  deficit. 
This  year  the  lecture  course  would  have  been  aban- 
doned had  not  the  Sociability  Association  taken  it  in 
charge.  While  the  season  tickets  were  being  sold  the 
question  would  be  frequently  asked:  "Who  is  going 
to  be  the  goat  this  year?"  The  course  is  now  two- 
fifths  past,  and  it  begins  to  look  as  if  there  would  be 
no  goat,  thanks  to  the  spirit  of  the  community. 

Our  Association  found  another  field  in  the  town's 
lack  of  musical  instruction.  Music  was  not  taught  in 
the  schools.  Three  of  the  churches  had  choirs  of  the 
average  sort.  No  one  organization  could  afford  to 
pay  an  instructor,  and,  as  for  some  local  amateur 
taking  upon  himself  the  place  of  musical  director,  that 
would  be  worse  than  "love's  labor  lost",  for  a  prophet, 
especially  in  a  small  town,  is  apt  to  be  without  honor. 
This  scheme  had  been  tried,  in  fact,  several  times, 
with  the  usual  result  of  breaking  up  or  dividing  the 
choirs.     There  seemed  to  be  nothing  to  do  with  such 

276 


THL   SCHOOL   AS    A    SOCIAL  CENTER 

a  situation  but  just  to  sing,  letting  each  one  hobble 
along  as  best  he  could.  The  Sociability  Association 
appointed  a  representative  music  committee  which  ar- 
ranged with  a  competent  man  from  a  nearby  city 
for  a  series  of  twelve  weekly  lessons  during  the  win- 
ter. These  lessons  were  followed  by  a  successful 
public  recital  in  the  *'Opera  House". 

A  Community  Sociability  Hall. — One  other  matter, 
considered  by  the  Association,  may  be  mentioned.  We 
felt  the  need  of  a  building  (Sociability  Hall)  after 
the  general  type  of  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building.  There 
was  a  good  lot  available,  and  we  received  an  option 
on  it.  One  of  our  members,  a  young  architect  taking 
a  correspondence  course,  was  delighted  to  have  a  con- 
crete problem.  We  talked  and  planned  the  matter, 
and  there  was  considerable  enthusiasm,  but  we  en- 
countered the  snag  of  sectarianism.  One  of  the 
churches  was  planning  to  build  and  its  members 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  such  a  project,  for,  as 
it  proved  later,  they  had  decided  on  the  same  lot  for 
their  church.  Of  course  the  Sociability  Association 
had  to  stand  aside,  and,  at  least  for  the  time,  give  up 
its  own  plan.  Perhaps  we  were  developing  too  fast. 
There  is  danger  along  that  line. 

What  Has  Been  Accomplished? — It  might  be  hard 
for  a  stranger  coming  into  this  village  to  put  his 
finger  on  the  things  actually  accomplished  by  this 
simple  little  Association.  But  one  who  lives  here  can 
feel  the  results,  for  they  are  mostly  of  that  nature. 
There  have  come  about  a  feeling  of  cooperation  and 
union,  and  a  sense  of  town  responsibility  and  pride, 
which  is  surprising  to  many.  During  September,  of 
1 9 12,  the  Methodists,  Presbyterians,  and  Friends  held 

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EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

a  Union  Revival  Meeting  in  a  large  tent.  They  all 
got  on  so  remarkably  well,  for  a  small  town, 
that,  near  the  close,  folks  began  to  say:  *'Why 
not  continue  to  meet  together?  After  all  we  have 
so  much  in  common  it's  a  shame  to  divide  our 
forces."  There's  inspiration  in  a  choir  of  seventy- 
five  voices  and  in  a  Sunday  school  attended  by 
four  hundred.  ''Could  we  not  at  least  all  have 
one  hiiilding  and  together  secure  a  leader  of  initiative 
and  power f  The  Head  Worker  will  surely  be  dis- 
pleased with  so  much  waste  and  duplication."  It 
seemed  that  something  was  about  to  happen  for  the 
sake  of  stumbling  humanity.  And  who  knows  but 
that  something  would  have  happened,  had  not  that 
particular  pastor  with  a  few  of  his  flock  set  their 
hearts  on  building  a  new  church?  And  yet  the  com- 
munity has  gained  a  larger  sense  of  its  unity. 

Future  Prospects. — Our  hope  for  the  future,  there- 
fore, turns  to  the  public  school  as  the  most  available 
and  practical  social  center.  Recently  a  Parent-teacher 
Association  was  organized,  as  the  Sociability  Asso- 
ciation could  not  well  attend  to  that  particular  field. 
Our  aims  are  slightly  different,  and  the  only  connec- 
tion that  exists  between  the  Associations  is  that  the 
president  of  each  is  a  member  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee of  the  other.  One  month  ago  the  Sociability 
Association  made  a  proposition  to  the  School  Board 
that  we  should  be  permitted  to  put  in  electric  lights 
at  the  school  house  if  they  would  allow  us  to  use  it 
for  public  entertainments  and  social  occasions.  The 
Board  accepted  the  proposition.  The  growth  of  senti- 
ment regarding  the  extension  in  the  use  of  our  school 
property  would  be,  of    itself,    an    interesting    story. 

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THE   SCHOOL   AS   A   SOCIAL  CENTER 

The  doors  are  just  now  opening,  and  we  feel  our- 
selves only  getting  started  in  the  real  work. 

Perhaps  this  account  should  not  have  been  written 
until  1932,  after  the  surrounding  school  districts  shall 
have  been  consolidated  with  us,  and  we  have  a  good 
building  combining  the  features  of  the  best  rural  high 
schools  with  those  of  Sociability  Hall,  and  the  school 
grounds  with  some  adjoining  lots  shall  have  been  con- 
verted into  a  recreation  park;  then  the  whole  thing 
could  be  pronounced  a  real  success.  We  are  just  be- 
ginning. Why  should  not  other  towns  begin?  Many 
of  them  could  do  a  better  work  than  we  have  done. 

The  great  difficulty  is  to  secure  the  long-continued 
residence  of  citizens  who  are  genuinely  zealous  for 
such  ideals.  Much  of  our  success  as  an  organization 
has,  without  doubt,  been  due  to  the  energy  and  enter- 
prise of  our  first  president,  the  wife  of  the  Presby- 
terian pastor.  Think  not  that  there  is  magic  in  the 
name  Sociability  Association  to  turn  the  stagnant 
pools  of  rural  community-life  into  running  waters  of 
social  intercourse.  Such  magic  springs  are  as  rare  as 
the  mythical  fountain  of  youth.  Every  healing  move- 
ment of  the  waters  must  he  preceded  by  some  vigor- 
ous stirring.  No  gravity  system  of  social  life  will 
work.  Surely  it  is  better  so,  and  who  knows  but  that 
these  many  tasks  of  seeming  thankless  service  are 
really  the  things  most  worth  the  doing? 


CHAPTER  XVII 
THE   SCHOOL  AND   SOCIAL   PROGRESS 

The  Concept  of  Progress. — Evolution  is  a  generally 
accepted  law  of  the  material  universe.  Everything  about 
us  that  we  can  observe,  either  with  the  naked  eye  or  by 
means  of  the  microscope  or  telescope,  is  in  motion,  and 
is  undergoing  changes  of  some  sort.  Some  of  these 
changes  are  in  the  nature  of  building  up  more  com- 
plex systems ;  others  involve  the  breakdown  and  decay 
of  such  systems.  The  oldest  philosophers  of  an- 
tiquity noticed  these  constant  changes  and  interpreted 
them  as  evidences  that  our  world  with  its  inanimate 
and  animate  objects  is  slowly  evolving,  that  the  face 
of  nature  as  we  see  it  is  the  result  of  a  development 
from  some  simpler  condition  of  things.  Modern  sci- 
ence by  its  researches  has  confirmed  this  view.  Not 
that  everything  is  increasing  in  complexity,  for  in 
some  directions  there  is  evidence  of  decay  and  dissipa- 
tion of  energy.  Heat,  for  instance,  is  continually  be- 
ing scattered  in  space,  as  far  as  we  can  see,  never 
to  be  recovered.  The  animal  and  plant  life  of  to-day 
is  far  less  rich  and  varied  than  it  was  in  certain 
geologic  ages  of  the  past.  But,  on  the  whole,  the 
changes  that  have  occurred  and  are  occurring  are  in- 
terpreted by  the  scientist  as  evolution  upward. 

Applied  to  Human  Race. — This  concept  of  develop- 
ment, or  progress,  is  also  applied  to  the  human  race. 


THE  SCHOOL  AND   SOCIAL  PROGRESS 

and  the  problems  which  there  appear  are  both  fasci- 
nating and  important.  For  example,  what  changes  in 
human  nature  and  in  human  conditions  are  we  to  con- 
sider as  changes  for  the  better?  Civilized  man  is  dif- 
ferent from  the  savage.  Is  he,  therefore,  any  better 
oflF  than  the  savage?  While  we  think  we  can  specify 
many  ways  in  which  he  has  advanced,  it  is  also  pos- 
sible to  point  to  phases  in  which  he  has  declined.  Is 
the  progress  ultimately  greater  than  the  decay,  and  is 
every  deterioration  offset  by  greater  development  in 
other  directions?  Probably  most  of  us  think  that  it 
is,  and  yet  the  question  is  a  complex  one,  and  is  by 
no  means  susceptible  of  an  offhand  answer.  Some 
thinkers  insist  that  we  have  reached  our  maximal  de- 
velopment and  are  now  in  process  of  rapid  decay. 
The  increase  in  knowledge  and  in  material  comfort, 
which  some  would  bring  forward  as  evidences  of 
progress,  others  would  mention  as  the  very  instru- 
ments and  evidences  of  decline.  Manifestly  the  an- 
swer to  the  question  depends  upon  the  point  of  view 
and  upon  the  standards  we  may  choose  to  accept. 

Conditions  of  Progress. — Then,  again,  supposing  hu- 
man progress  to  be  a  fact,  what  are  the  agencies,  the 
means  through  which  it  occurs;  what  are  its  condi- 
tions? We  think  we  have  discovered  certain  forces 
which  have  tended  to  produce  higher  and  higher  types 
of  plant  and  animal  forms.  Do  these  forces  control 
human  development,  or  are  there  other  influences 
which  may  supplement  the  action  of  these  primitive 
forces?  Furthermore,  we  note  that  the  evolution  of 
plant  and  animal  life  is  almost  inconceivably  slow,  so 
slow,  in  fact,  that  it  was  commonly  believed  until  the 
middle  of  the  last  century  that  these  forms  of  life  are 
19  281 


EDUCATION    FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

fixed  and  have  always  been  as  they  appear  to  us  to- 
day. The  question  then  arises  as  to  whether  human 
evokition  must  always  be  so  slow,  or  whether  it  may 
be  controlled  and  accelerated. 

Progress  and  Social  Efficiency. — These  are  questions 
of  far-reaching  and  practical  importance.  No  discus- 
sion of  education  for  social  efficiency  would  be  com- 
plete without  some  attempt  to  view  it  in  its  relation 
to  these  broad  problems  of  race-welfare  and  race-im- 
provement. It  is  this  relationship,  in  fact,  which 
finally  gives  meaning  to  the  social  ideal,  for  the  pro- 
duction of  really  able  men  and  women  is  the  first  step 
toward  a  better  society  and  toward  a  better  humanity. 

Starting  out,  then,  with  such  a  point  of  view,  let 
us  first  note  that  if  education  for  social  efficiency  is 
to  minister  to  progress  it  must  be  thought  of  in  this 
broader  relation,  as  well  as  with  reference  to  its  nar- 
rower and  more  immediate  effects.  There  is,  in  fact, 
a  danger  that  we  may  not  be  truly  successful  in  work- 
ing out  our  aim,  because  of  conceiving  it  in  too  nar- 
row and  isolated  a  form.  Social  efficiency,  to  be  gen- 
uine, must  be  worked  out  with  some  reference  to  its 
ultimate  relation  to  human  welfare. 

True,  the  problem  which  every  teacher  faces  is  im- 
mediate and  calls  for  a  more  or  less  narrow  and  spe- 
cific course  of  action.  If  he  were  to  think  all  of  the 
time  of  race  improvement  he  would  miss  doing  the 
thousand  detailed  and  necessary  things  that  each  day 
demands  of  him.  But,  even  so,  his  range  of  vision 
must  not  be  completely  limited  to  specific  results,  or 
else  these  will  in  the  end  lack  the  fine  adjustment  to 
the  larger  life  of  which  they  are  only  the  elements. 
The  best  worker  in  any  line  is  one  who  unites  with 

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THE   SCHOOL   AND   SOCIAL  PROGRESS 

a  painstaking  appreciation  of  the  minute  details  of 
his  own  task  a  sense  of  the  whole  of  which  his  work 
is  a  part.  It  is  worth  while,  then,  that  all  who  teach 
should  try  to  see  in  just  what  ways  the  great  social 
enterprise  of  education  may  really  contribute  to  so- 
cial advancement. 

In  the  first  chapter  it  was  stated  that  the  human 
race,  in  the  matter  of  evolution,  stands  on  a  different 
plane  from  the  rest  of  the  animal  world.  While 
changes  and  possible  improvements  of  the  latter  de- 
pend upon  the  slow  action  of  natural  selection,  the 
human  species,  having  attained  by  that  means  a  higher 
type  of  intelligence,  may  supplement  the  chance  pres- 
ervation of  variations  by  conscious  selection.  Natural 
selection  does  not  disappear,  but  its  action  may  be 
modified,  and,  by  giving  thought  thereto,  the  rate 
of  change  may  be  greatly  increased. 

Importance  of  Conscious  Selection. — This  has  al- 
ready been  established  in  man's  dealings  with  lower 
orders  of  life.  In  ancient  times,  even,  it  was  known 
to  be  possible  to  improve  certain  plants  and  animals  of 
economic  importance  by  careful  breeding.  But  only 
in  the  last  few  decades  have  the  larger  possibilities  in 
this  direction  been  fully  realized.  The  laws  of  varia- 
bility and  of  inheritance,  as  they  have  become  better 
and  better  known,  have  made  possible  striking  and 
rapid  improvements  in  a  wide  variety  of  forms  of  life. 
In  this  way  we  have  arrived  at  the  notion  that  the 
same  intelligent  forethought  given  to  our  own  species 
could  accomplish  equally  remarkable  results. 

Effect  of  Intelligence. — The  action  of  intelligence 
upon  the  changes  which  occur  in  human  society  is 
two-fold.     It  is  the  means,  in  the  first  place,  by  which 

283 


EDUCATION    FOR    SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

useful  experience,  or,  more  broadly,  culture,  may  be 
gradually  accumulated  and  preserved.  In  the  second 
place  it  permits  of  a  higher  type  of  selection  than  that 
which  has  ruled  in  the  development  of  the  lower 
forms.  Let  us  examine  briefly  each  of  these  phases 
of  the  action  of  intelligence. 

Progress  Through  Accumulated  Experience. — With 
reference  to  the  first  phase,  it  is  evident  that  man  is 
thus  able  to  profit  by  the  mistakes  and  successes  of 
the  past.  Thus  he  can,  slowly  at  first,  and  then  more 
rapidly,  improve  the  conditions  of  his  living,  and,  step 
by  step,  rise  above  the  level  of  savagery.  He  can 
learn  to  secure  and  prepare  better  food,  clothing,  and 
shelter;  he  can  learn  better  ways  of  deciding  differ- 
ences of  opinion,  and  thus,  in  time,  avoid  the  extrava- 
gant and  senseless  method  of  physical  combat  and 
war ;  he  can  master  the  forces  of  the  world  and  elimi- 
nate all  sorts  of  wastefulness  in  connection  with  his 
use  of  the  resources  of  nature.  He  can  improve  the 
conditions  under  which  he  and  other  men  labor.  All 
of  this  he  can  do  simply  by  his  capacity  of  remem- 
bering, reflecting  and  profiting  by  past  experiences, 
with  no  actual  change  or  improvement  in  his  original 
nature.  Man,  to-day,  is  not  markedly  different  in  in- 
telligence from  the  man  of  ancient  times,  nor  even 
from  the  savage  of  the  present  day.  He  simply  knows 
more.  Each  generation  has  added  a  little  to  the  gen- 
eral fund  of  knowledge.  He  is  possibly,  in  conse- 
quence, less  superstitious,  perhaps  somewhat  more 
kindly,  and  a  little  more  regardful  of  the  value  of 
human  life. 

Much  of  our  boasted  present-day  superiority  is  due, 
then,  to  the  fact  that  we  stand  on  the  shoulders  of 

284 


THE   SCHOOL   AND    SOCIAL   PROGRESS 

the  men  who  have  lived  before  us.  Human  intelli- 
gence makes  possible  the  accumulation  of  culture  and 
this  is  one  phase  of  human  progress.  The  other 
phase,  that  of  the  improvement  of  human  nature  it- 
self, we  purposely  leave  out  of  account  just  at  present. 
Supposing  that  man  has  attained  his  maximal  devel- 
opment as  a  human  being,  there  are  still  vast  oppor- 
tunities for  his  bettering  his  condition.  In  no  re- 
spect is  it  likely  that  he  has  as  yet  realized  to  the 
fullest  extent  the  possibilities  of  a  happy,  efficient  so- 
cial life.  He  has  made  great  strides  in  the  mastery 
of  nature  and  in  the  heaping  up  of  material  wealth, 
but  this  wealth  is  as  yet  unevenly  distributed,  and  it 
has,  furthermore,  been  gained  by  a  wasteful  disregard 
of  the  happiness  and  comfort  of  large  groups  of  his 
fellow-men.  Even  if  all  possessed  their  quota  of 
creature  comforts  the  resulting  progress  would  be 
superficial  and  undesirable  unless  it  were  accompanied 
by  an  increased  opportunity  for  the  expression  of 
human  nature  itself.  It  is  in  this  latter  particular  that 
great  advances  are  yet  to  be  made.  This  phase  has 
been  relatively  ignored  in  the  rapid  conquest  of  the 
material  world,  but  it  is,  notwithstanding,  of  far 
greater  importance. 

Progress  Through  Utilizing  Latent  Resources. — As  we 
look  abroad  upon  the  large  amount  of  injustice  and 
misery  in  society,  we  are  accustomed  to  think  of  prog- 
ress, and  particularly  of  reform,  as  dependent  upon 
the  development  of  a  new  and  radically  different  hu- 
man nature.  The  sentiment  of  Huxley  that  the  best 
thing  that  could  happen  to  the  human  race  would  be 
for  it  to  be  swept  off  the  face  of  the  earth  by  some 
friendly  comet,  is  based  on  the  idea  that  the  existing 

285 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

resources  of  human  nature  have  been  exhausted,  that 
man  is  mostly  and  hopelessly  bad. 

The  modern  social  worker,  however,  has  a  different 
point  of  view.  One  of  the  most  interesting  and  hope- 
ful results  of  the  study  of  human  nature  is  the  dis- 
covery that  there  are  fine  qualities  even  in  the  worst 
of  us.  The  social  worker  believes  that  the  deficiencies 
in  our  present-day  life  are  largely  due,  not  to  a  fun- 
damental lack  of  finer  qualities  in  human  nature,  but 
to  the  failure,  thus  far,  to  give  these  qualities  fair 
play.  Social  reform  has  ample  raw  m.aterial  to  start 
with.  Savage  peoples  show  astonishing  degrees  of 
kindliness,  hospitality,  truthfulness,  and  justice,  along 
with  much  that  is  unlovely  if  not  abhorrent.  The 
same  traits  appear  in  the  most  unpromising  situations 
and  among  the  most  unfortunate  representatives  of 
the  civilized  races.  Tramps,  criminals,  boys'  gangs, 
reveal  to  the  sympathetic  observer  much  that  is  admir- 
able and  much  that  goes  to  prove  that  underneath 
their  distorted  lives  they  are  fundamentally  human, 
and  are  capable  of  being  actuated  by  finer  motives. 
As  Cooley  says :  "Where  there  is  a  little  common  in- 
terest and  activity,  kindness  grows  like  weeds  by  the 
roadside." 

There  is,  in  other  words,  in  all  men  much  fine  raw 
material.  No  one  is  given  over  completely  to  con- 
scious badness.  Even  the  worst  reprobate  is  in  some 
degree  the  victim  of  circumstances,  and  is  expressing, 
in  a  distorted  manner,  qualities  of  human  nature 
which  are  susceptible  of  a  higher  usefulness.  Hence, 
we  may  well  say  that  social  progress  does  not  so  much 
require  a  radically  new  human  nature  as  a  better 
utilization  of  the  resources  that  already  exist  in  men 

286 


THE   SCHOOL   AND    SOCIAL   PROGRESS 

and  women.  At  least  we  must  start  with  those  re- 
sources and  do  what  we  can  with  them.  How  to 
make  use  of  human  nature,  as  it  exists,  how  to  extend 
the  influence  of  the  qualities  of  kindness,  of  loyalty, 
of  justice,  of  lawfulness  beyond  the  narrow  confines 
of  the  little  circles  of  family,  neighborhood,  and  city 
ward  is  a  fundamental  problem  of  present-day  social 
advancement. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  one  phase  of  the  question  of  social 
progress.  In  summarized  form:  progress  is  depend- 
ent upon  the  conquest  and  conservation  of  the  material 
world  and  upon  the  working  out  of  conditions  favor- 
able to  the  better  expression  of  human  life. 

The  Office  of  Education. — With  reference  to  this 
phase,  it  is  clear  that  education  may  play  a  part  of 
the  greatest  importance.  As  Professor  Dewey  says: 
*'The  school  is  a  fundamental  means  of  social  prog- 
ress and  reform."  The  simplest  of  all  ways  in  which 
the  school  may  become  such  an  agency  is  through  its 
function  of  instruction.  Thus  the  knowledge  and 
ideals  of  the  past  are  preserved  in  each  new  genera- 
tion. Of  course,  the  mere  transmission  of  our  social 
inheritance  to  our  children  would  not  contribute  very 
much  to  actual  progress.  If  this  were  all  it  would  re- 
sult in  a  stationary  social  order.  Such  an  education  is, 
in  fact,  characteristic  of  the  lower,  less-developed 
races.  The  children  are  instructed  in  all  things  just 
as  the  fathers  were  instructed.  Questions  of  better 
and  worse  are  not  raised.  All  that  has  come  down 
from  the  past  is  assumed  to  be  good.  But,  as  culture 
slowly  accumulates,  it  becomes  less  and  less  possible 
to  teach  everything.  Some  things  must  be  selected, 
and,  in  the  long  run,  phases  of  a  people's  culture  thus 

287 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

selected  to  be  taught  are  the  better  ones.  Thus  the 
knowledge  that  is  of  least  worth  drops  out,  the 
modes  of  behavior  that  are  least  desirable  are  unem- 
phasized,  and,  instead,  the  better  things  are  taught. 
Thus  by  the  mere  process  of  selection  of  what  shall 
be  the  subject-matter  of  school  instruction  the  level 
of  human  knowledge  and  of  human  behavior  is  actu- 
ally, though  slowly,  raised.  The  rate  of  improvement 
depends  upon  the  extent  to  which  this  selection  is 
guided  by  a  definite,  conscious  purpose. 

The  School  a  Selective  Agency. — The  school,  then, 
at  its  lowest  level  of  efficiency  is  something  of  a  sift- 
ing and  selective  agency,  an  agency  which  determines, 
at  least  in  some  degree,  what  shall  and  what  shall  not 
be  taught  to  each  succeeding  generation.  And,  hap- 
pily for  the  idealist,  the  level  of  efficiency  in  this  re- 
spect is  rising  more  rapidly  to-day  than  at  any  previ- 
ous period  of  human  history.  As  one  social  thinker 
points  out,  this  is  a  period  of  remarkable  shifting  in 
social  responsibility.  Certain  institutions,  such  as  the 
church  and  the  family,  seem  at  present  to  have  less 
influence  than  they  used  to  have,  while  the  influences 
of  other  institutions  are  progressing  by  leaps  and 
bounds.  Among  these  latter  are  the  agencies  of  pub- 
lic education.  The  schools  are  not  directly  responsi- 
ble for  this.  They  have  simply  found  themselves 
caught  in  the  current  of  change  and  of  readjustment. 
Heavier  duties  are  yearly  being  thrust  upon  them. 
Society  is  demanding  that  they  train,  not  alone  in  a 
narrow,  intellectual  sense,  but  that  they  provide  means 
of  public  recreation;  that  they  give  attention  to  child 
hygiene,  that  they  share  a  part  of  the  burden  of  the 
problem  of  public  health;  that  they  provide  definite 


THE   SCHOOL   AND    SOCIAL   PROGRESS 

training  for  vocations;  that  they  undertake  the  diffi- 
cult task  of  securing  proper  vocational  adjustment; 
that  they  take  up  and  grapple  with  the  vital  social 
questions  of  sexual  morality;  that  they  assume  large 
responsibility  in  the  general  moral  training  of  chil- 
dren. All  of  these  matters  were  formerly  attended 
to  with  more  or  less  efficiency  by  the  home,  by  the 
church,  and  by  the  world  of  industry  itself.  To-day, 
the  responsibility  for  them  is  shifting  to  the  school. 

To  meet  these  new  demands  places  a  heavy  strain 
upon  the  existing  machinery  of  public  education. 
Whether  it  can  measure  up  to  the  larger  duties  re- 
mains to  be  seen.  In  any  case  it  is  significant  that 
there  is  a  growing  consciousness  on  the  part  of  so- 
ciety that  the  deeper  questions  of  social  welfare  are 
really  educational  questions. 

In  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  attempted  to 
discuss  the  ways  in  which  the  schools  are  awakening 
to  a  sense  of  their  new  responsibilities.  Whether 
they  can  adequately  and  completely  deal  with  them  or 
not  they  are  at  least  becoming  "mighty  engines",  to 
use  Ross's  phrase,  "of  social  progress".  We  can  think 
of  all  these  new  phases  of  public  school  activity  as 
evidences  of  conscious  and  systematic  selection  of 
the  better  aspects  of  human  culture,  which  will  tend 
to  place  each  new  generation  a  little  farther  along 
than  the  preceding  one.  The  school  is,  at  least,  a  se- 
lected environment,  with  a  selected  set  of  influences 
designed  to  give  children  a  training  in  better  habits 
and  in  better  ideals  than  they  would  pick  up  inciden- 
tally if  left  to  themselves  in  the  hit-and-miss  contact 
with  the  life  about  them.  It  gives  them,  as  far  as  it 
can,  a  hcahhful  point  of  view  toward  life  that  will 

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EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

enable  them  to  start  out  with  at  least  some  prospect 
of  living  efficiently  and  nobly. 

Significance  of  These  Modem  Movements. — ^Every 
one  of  these  modern  movements  in  education  is  thus 
fraught  with  great  social  values.  The  improvement 
of  rural  schools,  bound  up,  as  it  is,  with  the  improve- 
ment of  rural  life,  is  one  illustration  of  the  influence 
of  selection  through  which  better  conditions  are 
brought  to  pass.  The  level  of  farm  life  to-day  is  not 
so  high  as  it  should  be;  the  farmer's  labor  does  not 
count  for  as  much  as  it  should,  either  in  material  or 
in  spiritual  satisfaction.  Fragmentary  and  crude 
though  present-day  efforts  in  improving  rural  schools 
may  be,  they  are,  nevertheless,  efforts  to  put  the  boys 
and  girls  into  vital  touch  with  the  better  ways,  and 
to  eliminate  thereby  the  less  effective  modes  of  farm 
life.  The  problem  is  not  only  to  discover  better  ways, 
but  to  enable  people  generally  to  put  into  practice  the 
better  ways  already  known;  to  put  in  the  hands  and 
into  the  lives  of  the  many  the  wisdom  of  the  few. 
Thus  the  farmer's  lad  learns  improved  methods  of 
selecting  his  seeds,  of  plowing  his  ground,  of  fertiliz- 
ing it,  and  of  tending  his  crops.  The  girl  learns  to 
be  a  better  home-maker;  both  together  learn  how  to 
make  the  farm  home  more  attractive  and  comfort- 
able; how  to  secure  healthful  recreation;  how  to  be 
more  sociable ;  how  to  cooperate,  as  all  people  need  to 
do,  in  an  efficient  social  life.  In  all  this  endeavor  the 
better  ways  of  working  and  of  living  are  selected  and 
set  before  the  youth,  and  thereby  a  real  step  is  taken 
in  social  advancement. 

In  the  cities  the  same  thing  holds  true.  The  atten- 
tion given  by  school  authorities  to  the  health  of  chil- 

290 


THE   SCHOOL   AND   SOCIAL   PROGRESS 

dren  is  of  the  first  importance  for  social  progress  and 
social  efficiency.  The  development  of  public  play- 
grounds and  other  means  of  recreation,  the  school 
gardens  with  their  opportunities  for  the  cultivation 
of  healthful  outdoor  interests  are  all  means  of  crowd- 
ing out  of  the  lives  of  children  the  untoward  and  de- 
moralizing influences  of  modern  city  life  and  giv- 
ing the  real  boy  and  girl  nature  a  chance  to  unfold 
properly.  The  bringing  of  home  and  school  into  a 
more  thorough  and  sympathetic  cooperation ;  the  train- 
ing for  vocational  efficiency,  and  the  securing  of 
proper  vocational  adjustment  are  still  other  phases 
of  the  operation  of  those  upbuilding,  character- form- 
ing influences  which  exist  in  our  midst,  but  which 
have  to  be  selected  and  organized  in  order  that  they 
may  play  the  part  they  should  in  social  improvement. 

Within  the  school  the  efTorts  to  develop  a  healthful 
social  spirit  through  all  sorts  of  voluntary  organiza- 
tions and  ** functions",  through  pupil-participation  in 
school  government,  through  introducing  more  of  the 
social  motive  into  the  regular  work  of  study  and  in- 
struction, and  through  the  actual  choice  of  the  sub- 
ject-matter itself,  are  further  illustrations  of  the  ways 
in  which  selection  may  operate. 

Choice  of  Subject-matter. — What  we  mean  by  selec- 
tion in  the  case  of  subject-matter  may  be  briefly  illus- 
trated. Take  history  for  an  example.  It  is  not  the 
object  of  ordinary  school  instruction  in  this  subject 
to  train  historians,  but  to  give  each  child  a  sane  and 
helpful  point  of  view  for  actual  life.  Hence,  the  need 
of  careful  choice  in  what  is  taught,  not  that  facts  are 
lo  be  covered  up  or  distorted,  but  that  the  pupil  may 
see  things  in  their  right  relationships,  and  that  he  may 

291 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

appreciate  the  real  forces  of  human  progress  and 
their  relation  to  his  present  life.  If  historical  facts 
were  taught  indiscriminately  he  would  only  be  con- 
fused in  his  vision  and  he  might  never  see  the  essen- 
tial things;  that  is,  the  things  which  count  for  most 
in  the  long  run.  With  this  in  view  thoughtful  teach- 
ers see  that  elementary  history  should  lay  less  empha- 
sis upon  wars  and  upon  national  and  race  prejudices, 
significant  though  these  may  be  for  the  historian,  and 
more  upon  the  essential  solidarity  of  human  interests, 
more  upon  the  manifold  phases  of  human  effort  as 
seen  in  the  pioneer  life,  in  the  conquest  of  nature,  and 
in  industrial  and  social  evolution.  The  great  achieve- 
ments of  the  past  must  be  admired,  but  not  blindly. 
The  imperfections  of  men  and  of  movements  must 
be  recognized,  not  as  isolated  facts,  but  that  later 
achievement  may  be  more  thoroughly  appreciated,  and 
that  courage  may  be  developed  to  continue  the  strug- 
gle for  more  of  honesty,  of  justice,  and  of  fair-play. 
What  we  have  illustrated  in  the  case  of  history  is  true 
in  greater  or  less  degree,  and  in  varying  ways,  of 
every  other  subject  of  the  curriculum.  In  each  there 
is  need  of  selection. 

The  School  and  the  Immigrant. — We  should  not  neg- 
lect to  recognize  that  social  progress  in  America  is 
intimately  bound  up  with  the  problem  of  assimilating 
the  people  of  other  lands  who  are  coming  in  such 
large  numbers  into  our  midst.  They  are  for  the  most 
part  sturdy,  adventurous  people,  full  of  red  blood,  and 
willing  to  work,  but  they  are  raw  material,  needing 
training  and  adjustment  along  right  lines.  No  one 
agency  can  do  more  or  is  doing  more  to  make  valu- 
able  Americans  of   these  people  than  is  the  public 

292 


THE   SCHOOL   AND    SOCIAL   PROGRESS 

school.  Every  phase  of  the  selected  influences  which 
the  school  has  built  up  gains  in  significance  an  hun- 
dred-fold when  it  is  viewed  in  connection  with  the  im- 
migrant child.  The  school  is  society's  main  agency 
for  bringing  him  into  touch  with  the  best  that  Ameri- 
can life  has  to  oflFer. 

Summary. — In  summary  of  this  section  we  may 
say  that  social  progress  is  to  be  controlled  in  part  by 
consciously  attempting  to  train  the  children  of  each 
new  generation  in  the  better  elements  of  the  life  of 
the  parents.  //  is  essentially  a  process  of  systemati- 
cally taking  hold  of  the  ideals  held  by  every  com- 
munity but  which  have,  as  yet,  been  only  imperfectly 
realized.  No  community  lives  in  all  things  as  it  knows 
it  should.  Every  parent  wishes  his  children  to  attain 
a  higher  plane  of  usefulness  than  he  has  himself 
reached.  It  is  just  this  aspiration,  this  sense  of 
"more  beyond'',  that  is  the  starting  point  and  the  op- 
portunity of  the  school.  It  tries  to  keep  the  children 
from  imitating  unreservedly  everything  they  see  about 
them;  it  strives  to  emphasize  right  modes  of  behavior; 
it  introduces  them  to  the  lives  of  high-minded  men 
and  women.  In  the  social  life  of  the  school  com- 
munity they  are  given  experience  and  practice  in 
truthfulness,  in  justice,  and  in  fair-play,  and  are 
taught  how  these  ideals  must  be  extended,  beyond  the 
family,  the  school,  and  the  playground,  into  the 
broader  and  more  intricate  relations  of  the  world, 
rhus,  step  by  step,  these  virtues  may  be  more  defi- 
nitely realized  in  the  common  life  of  the  average  man 
and  woman,  the  better  usefulness  and  the  finer  quali- 
ties which  are  present,  but  find  as  yet  only  partial  ex- 
pression.    That  the  schools  do  this  imperfectly  and 

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EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

with  many  shortcomings  does  not  prove  that  it  is  not 
part  of  their  problem. 

The  outHne  thus  far  presented  of  the  relation  of 
education  to  social  progress  presents  a  large  program. 
If  the  individual  teacher  shrinks  before  it,  let  him 
remember  that  the  responsibility  for  carrying  it  out 
does  not  rest  upon  his  shoulders  alone,  but  upon 
those  of  many  thousands  of  other  earnest  men  and 
women  with  him.  Even  though  his  own  opportuni- 
ties are  limited  he  can  do  a  little,  and  this  all  the  better 
if  he  has  some  vision  of  the  larger  problem — pro- 
vided, of  course,  that  vision  does  not  frighten  him. 

Process  Through  Improvement  of  Human  Nature. 
— With  the  hope  that  the  larger  view  may  stimulate 
rather  than  discourage,  we  venture  to  turn  to  still 
another  phase,  one  that  is  more  baffling  than  the  pre- 
ceding, but  which  cannot  be  ignored  if  we  would  see 
our  work  in  all  its  relationships.  This  is  the  problem, 
not  of  using  what  we  already  have  in  better  ways,  but 
of  securing  actual  improvement  in  the  human  stock 
itself,  of  attaining  higher  levels  of  innate  ability, 
higher  general  capacity  to  deal  with  the  questions  of 
material  existence  and  of  living  together.  The  points 
here  at  issue  are  far-reaching  and  complex,  and  they 
lie,  moreover,  in  large  part  beyond  the  field  of  edu- 
cation, as  that  is  ordinarily  understood.  And  yet, 
in  some  degree,  public  education  is  concerned  with 
them. 

As  was  pointed  out  in  the  first  portion  of  the  chap- 
ter, the  scientist  conceives  of  the  evolution  of  higher 
types  of  life  as  dependent  upon  the  appearance,  now 
and  again,  in  the  history  of  different  forms,  of  varia- 
tions which  prove  of  advantage  in  the  struggle  for 

294 


THE  SCHOOL  AND   SOCIAL  PROGRESS 

life.  Such  useful  variations  in  the  parent  may  be 
transmitted  by  heredity  to  the  offspring.  Useful 
adaptations  made  by  an  individual  in  its  own  lifetime 
are  not  so  transmitted.  Hence,  the  possibility  of  im- 
proving the  innate  qualities  of  any  plant  or  animal 
depends  upon  the  preservation,  whenever  they  appear, 
of  these  fortunate  variations.  The  extent  to  which 
lower  forms  of  life  may  be  modified  and  improved  to 
meet  human  needs  has  given  the  scientist  a  dream 
of  human  improvement  through  conscious  and  wise 
preservation  of  useful  variations  in  children  and  in 
men  and  women.  The  preservation  of  these  varia- 
tions in  the  human  race  has  thus  far  been  subject  to 
all  sorts  of  chance  circumstances,  and  golden  oppor- 
tunities for  the  absolute  betterment  of  human  nature 
have  doubtless  been  lost  over  and  over  again. 

The  School's  Relation  to  Race  Betterment. — Leaving 
out  of  account  many  large  aspects  of  this  problem,  let 
us  turn  directly  to  the  school.  It  is  the  school's  privi- 
lege, in  theory,  at  least,  to  give  to  each  child  the  train- 
ing he  is  most  fitted  for,  to  develop  his  native  en- 
dowments to  the  fullest  possible  extent  along  socially 
useful  lines.  To  do  this  it  must  be  able  to  recognize 
varying  abilities  and  especially  those  which  are  su- 
perior or  which  have  any  peculiar  relation  to  social 
progress. 

The  School  and  the  Backward  Child. — ^Just  at  pres- 
ent there  is  great  public  interest  in  backward  and  men- 
tally deficient  children.  Recent  studies  in  retarda- 
tion reveal  the  large  number  of  the  former  in  all 
school  systems.  There  are  many  causes  other  than 
mental  inferiority  for  this  failure  of  large  portions  of 
our  children  to  come  up  to  the  standard  set  by  the 

295 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

school.  One  of  the  causes  is  lack  of  a  fine  adjustment 
of  the  school  to  individual  needs.  Children  are  treated 
too  much  in  the  mass.  Standards  which  are  often  ar- 
tificial are  set  up  which  place  a  premium  upon  chil- 
dren of  a  plastic,  receptive  disposition.  Others  who 
have  even  greater  mental  ability  than  these  may  fail 
to  make  proper  connections  with  school  instruction 
and  drop  behind.  There  are  also  conditions  outside 
of  school  which  interfere  with  the  progress  of  per- 
fectly normal  children.  But,  when  all  of  these  things 
are  taken  into  account,  it  is  obvious  that  there  still 
remain  a  number  who  are  of  inferior  mentality.  That 
both  these  and  the  distinctly  subnormal  and  deficient 
must  be  cared  for  and  trained  as  far  as  may  be  goes 
without  saying;  but  there  is  a  danger  of  losing  a 
proper  perspective  in  the  matter.  The  popular  in- 
terest in  the  training  of  these  children  has  rested 
largely  upon  the  assumption  that  they  can  in  some 
way  be  raised  to  the  level  of  normal  children.  Many 
public  school  systems  provide  special  schools  or  special 
classes  for  these  subnormal  children,  in  the  hope  of 
restoring  them  to  the  work  of  the  regular  classes. 
This  is  now  known  to  be  very  largely  impossible,  at 
least  as  far  as  the  really  deficient  pupils  are  concerned, 
and  the  effort  devoted  to  training  them,  aside  from  its 
purely  humanitarian  aspects,  is  valuable  only  as  a 
form  of  social  protection. 

Social  Menace  of  Defective  Classes. — Extended  and 
careful  studies  of  the  last  few  years  have  revealed 
the  fact  that  these  mentally  deficient  classes  furnish 
a  large  percentage  of  our  delinquents,  paupers,  and 
criminals.  Anything,  therefore,  that  society  can  do  to 
enable  them  to  earn  an  honest  livelihood,  if  it  is  within 

296 


THE   SCHOOL   AND   SOCIAL   PROGRESS 

their  power  to  do  so;  to  safeguard  them  from  the 
exploitation  of  the  more  intelligent  classes ;  and  espe- 
cially to  prevent  their  marriage  and  procreation,  is 
highly  worth  while.  Statistics  gathered  recently  by 
a  Royal  Commission  in  England  and  Wales  indicate 
that  about  one  person  in  every  248  of  the  population 
is  feeble-minded.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  the  percentage  is  slowly  increasing.  These  fig- 
ures take  account  of  only  the  worst  cases.  If  all  per- 
sons who  are  subnormal,  that  is,  the  higher  grades  of 
the  mental  defectives,  were  included,  the  figures 
would  be  many  times  greater. 

Dr.  Henry  H.  Goddard,  of  The  Vineland  Training 
School  for  Feeble-minded  Children,  estimates  that  two 
per  cent,  of  the  children  in  the  public  schools  are  men- 
tally defective  to  such  an  extent  that  they  are  a  men- 
ace to  society.  In  the  whole  United  States  he  esti- 
mates that  there  are  350,000  positively  feeble-minded 
children,  and  at  least  150,000  more  who  cannot,  with 
safety  to  society,  be  allowed  to  take  care  of  themselves. 
If  one  is  inclined  to  think  that  the  menace  of  these  de- 
fectives is  overestimated  because  the  relative  number 
is  small,  let  him  consider  the  further  startling  dis- 
covery of  the  Royal  Commission  of  England,  which 
studied  the  problem  for  four  years,  namely,  that  these 
people  are  increasing  at  twice  the  rate  of  the  general 
population. 

It  is  not  hard  to  understand  how  this  may  be  true. 
We  know  with  absolute  certainty  that  mental  defi- 
ciency of  all  degrees  and  of  nearly  every  type  is  trans- 
missible by  heredity  and  that,  while  there  are  other 
causes,  the  bulk  of  the  rising  tide  of  defectives,  with 
its  attendant  menace  of  pauperism  and  crime,  is  due 
20  297 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

to  society's  carelessness  in  permitting  feeble-minded 
people  to  propagate  their  kind.  This  tide  can  never 
be  held  in  check  except  by  systematically  preventing 
procreation  among  such  classes.  Moreover,  if  defec- 
tives are  unrestrained  they  procreate  faster  than  the 
normal  classes,  because  they  are  bound  by  none  of  the 
restraints  of  intelligence  that  operate  with  the  latter. 
If  anything,  the  lower  their  mental  level,  the  more 
intense  are  their  animal  passions. 

It  is,  therefore,  not  only  the  absolute  improvement 
of  the  human  race  which  is  at  stake,  but  the  even 
more  serious  question  arises  as  to  whether  civilized 
society  must  not  be  facing  the  possibility  of  an  actual 
decline  through  its  failure  to  prevent  itself  being  con- 
stantly infected  by  the  poison  of  feeble-mindedness. 
Certainly  the  rights  of  society  are  here  greater  and 
more  imperative  than  the  rights  of  any  individual. 
The  responsibility  for  intelligent  action  rests  in  part 
on  clear-sighted  educational  leaders — leaders  who  are 
no  longer  blinded  by  the  old  groundless  optimism  that 
all  men  are  born  equal,  or  can  be  made  equal  by 
training. 

Opportunity  Afforded  by  Superior  Children. — While, 
therefore,  we  do  what  we  can  to  save  these  classes 
from  society,  and  especially  to  save  society  from 
them,  we  must  recognize  that  all  effort  so  expended 
is  essentially  of  the  protective  sort.  We  must  see  to 
it,  also,  that  we  realize  as  fully  our  responsibility  to 
care  for  and  train  properly  the  children  of  su- 
perior ability.  In  all  likelihood  they  are  as  numerous 
as  the  defectives,  and  yet  they  have  not  hitherto  been 
given  the  attention  bestowed  on  inferior  children,  nor 
even  any  special  recognition  or  opportunity  in  our 

298 


THE   SCHOOL   AND   SOCIAL   PROGRESS 

school  systems.  A  few  cities  have  recently  organized 
classes  for  their  specially  gifted  children,  but  by  far 
the  greatest  amount  of  effort  is  still  expended  on  the 
deficient  children  and  those  of  ordinary  ability.  We 
excuse  our  action  with  the  plea  that  the  gifted  child 
will  take  care  of  himself.  So  he  does,  sometimes,  but 
//  is  .not  the  part  of  an  intelligent  society  to  leave  it 
to  pure  chance  that  he  shall  be  able  to  emerge.  In 
fact,  the  conditions  of  most  schools  are  distinctly  un- 
favorable to  his  emerging.  The  attention  of  the 
teacher  is  fixed  upon  the  perplexing  task  of  keeping 
the  average  and  the  inferior  pupils  up  to  grade.  The 
supernormal  pupil,  just  because  he  varies  from  the 
average,  is  apt  to  be  regarded  as  a  disturbing  factor, 
if  not  as  a  nuisance.  He  is  sometimes  sternly  re- 
pressed, in  order  that  he  may  be  held  in  line  with 
the  others.  He  is  often  sacrificed  to  systems  of  pro- 
motion, and,  while  we  say  theoretically  that  he  may 
take  care  of  himself  and  go  ahead  as  fast  as  he 
hooses,  no  adequate  provision  is  made  by  which  he 
may  go  ahead  any  faster  than  his  slower  moving  asso- 
ciates. To  be  sure  a  few  cities  have  tried  with  more 
or  less  success  various  plans  of  grading  and  promo- 
tion, whereby  the  brighter  pupils  may  be  allowed  to 
go  ahead  at  a  most  rapid  pace,  but  in  our  country,  as 
a  whole,  the  so-called  "lock-step"  system  still  pre- 
vails. 

Superior  Child  Needs  Careful  Training. — Even  if  the 
supernormal  pupil  had  no  difficulty  in  taking  care  of 
himself  it  would  not  follow  that  his  own  care  would 
be  wise,  nor  would  it  follow  that  he  does  not  stand  in 
serious  need  of  suitable  training.  His  superior  abil- 
ity, if  left  to  itself,  may  develop  into  almost  any  eccen- 

299 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

tricity.  He  may  use  it  in  a  thousand  ways  that  are 
detrimental  to  social  welfare.  In  other  words,  he 
needs,  even  more  than  does  the  average  child,  watch- 
ful care  and  training,  that  his  peculiar  endowments 
may  be  conserved  and  fitted  into  the  fabric  of  social 
life,  rather  than  suffer  pitiful  miscarriage.  Further- 
more, energy  expended  on  finding  and  properly  train- 
ing the  children  of  more  than  ordinary  ability  will 
yield  an  incomparably  larger  return  to  society  gener- 
ally than  the  same  effort  expended  on  those  below 
the   normal  level. 

The  fact  that  our  schools  are  not  equipped  to  deal 
with  these  children  does  not  make  the  need  for  it  any 
less  real.  It  is  true  that  the  situation  is  a  difficult 
one  from  every  point  of  view,  but  if  human  ability  is 
to  be  increased  by  any  other  means  than  the  slow 
and  wasteful  action  of  natural  selection,  this  is  one 
line  of  effort  to  which  the  school  must  give  its  most 
serious  attention. 

A  Serious  Problem. — The  problem  of  selecting  and 
conserving  superior  ability  is  really  a  larger  one  than 
that  of  discovering  here  and  there  a  peculiarly  gifted 
child.  It  involves  saving,  to  the  fullest  extent,  ability 
of  every  sort.  There  are  many  fine  qualities  in  even 
average  children,  which  are  directly  related  to  human 
progress,  which  are  now  disregarded  and  even  sup- 
pressed by  the  average  school.  We  refer  particularly 
to  the  quality  of  personal  initiative  in  its  various 
forms.  All  normal  children  are  full  of  eagerness,  full 
of  the  desire  to  explore  and  find  out,  full  of  the  im- 
pulse to  do  things  for  themselves.  The  ideal  of  ad- 
justment, of  mere  receptivity,  is  remote  from  all 
healthful  child-life.     Children  need,  of  course,  a  cer- 

300 


I 


THE   SCHOOL   AND    SOCIAL   PROGRESS 

tain  amount  of  adjustment,  not  as  an  end  in  itself, 
but  as  a  means  for  the  fuller  exercise  of  their  own 
individual  powers  along  socially  useful  lines. 

Education  as  Adjustment  Only  a  Half-truth. — The 
ideal  of  education  as  some  sort  of  social  adjustment 
widely  prevails  to-day,  but  it  expresses  only  a  half- 
truth.  A  broader  conception  would  be  social  partici- 
pation. We  may  freely  admit  that  a  child  who  is  to 
participate  adequately  in  social  life  must  learn  to  con- 
form to  many  social  usages.  We  may  also  freely  ad- 
mit that  he  would  not,  if  left  to  his  own  initiative, 
find  out  or  appreciate  properly  all  the  things  he  should 
learn  in  order  to  be  a  useful  man.  Our  point  is  rather 
that  his  initiative  and  eagerness  to  act  on  his  own 
account  should  not  be  suppressed  while  he  is  learning 
necessary  adjustments. 

Everywhere  about  us,  in  adult  society,  there  is  a 
premium  placed  on  inventiveness,  on  the  capacity  to 
do  old  things  in  new  and  better  ways.  In  fact,  this 
emphasis  is  one  of  the  characteristics  of  progressive 
peoples.  In  lower  stages  of  culture,  and  especially 
among  savage  peoples,  imitation  and  conformity  to 
type  is  the  prevailing  ideal.  Such  people  possibly 
cannot  afford  to  take  the  risk  of  trying  new  ways  of 
doing  things,  lest  the  experiment  prove  a  failure  and 
the  whole  social  body  come  to  grief.  The  Central 
Australians  represent  the  acme  of  human  adjustment 
to  natural  conditions.  They  have  not  tried  to  make 
clothes  or  to  construct  for  themselves  any  adequate 
shelter  from  a  climate  that  is  often  severe.  They  do 
not  till  the  soil,  but  simply  take  what  Nature  gives 
them,  eating  roots,  fruits,  game,  and  even  grubs  and 
insects.     They  accept  things  as  they  are,  and  have 

301 


EDUCATION    FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

learned  to  endure  them,  except  that  endurance  is  not 
the  proper  word,  from  their  point  of  view,  for  they 
know  of  nothing  else  and  are  therefore  quite  content. 

When  we  turn  to  more  progressive  branches  of  the 
race  we  find  large  numbers  still,  who  merely  conform 
to  conditions  imposed  upon  them.  There  are  always 
a  greater  or  less  number,  however,  who  are  restive 
under  all  conditions,  who  are  always  reaching  out 
and  apparently  striving  for  fuller  self-expression. 
The  qualities  of  perseverance,  of  energy,  of  curiosity, 
of  eagerness  to  experiment  and  to  explore,  seem  to 
lie  at  the  very  basis  of  social  progress. 

It  is  somewhat  surprising,  then,  to  find  the  main  em- 
phasis upon  imitation  in  the  education  of  the  pro- 
gressive races.  The  chief  concern  of  adult  society 
seems  to  be  that  the  children  should  spend  most  of 
their  time  acquiring  the  wisdom  and  skill  of  the  past. 
We  should  not  criticize  this  concern  if  it  had  coupled 
with  it  a  clearer  recognition  that  this  is  only  the  be- 
ginning of  the  process,  not  an  end  in  itself,  but  a 
means  to  an  end.  The  most  precious  heritage  of  pro- 
gressive races  is  personal  initiative,  and  their  most 
serious  problem  is  how  to  conserve  and  direct  this 
initiative  wisely.  Undirected,  it  is  of  no  more  value 
than  unconfined  steam;  it  is  mere  vaporing,  which 
brings  only  discredit  upon  itself. 

The  child  studies  certain  aspects  of  the  culture  of 
past  generations,  not  merely  to  absorb  it,  or  to  be- 
come, as  it  were,  a  receptacle  in  which  to  preserve 
that  culture  intact,  as  the  arts  and  crafts  of  other 
times  are  preserved  in  museums  for  the  inspection 
of  the  curious.  He  studies  rather  that  he  may  use, 
that  he  may  have  better  tools  for  the  expression  of  his 

302 


THE   SCHOOL   AND   SOCIAL   PROGRESS 

initiative,  that  his  impulses  may  avoid  failures  and 
take  advantages  of  past  success. 

The  Right  Emphasis. — The  emphasis  in  a  truly  pro- 
gressive society  must  then  be  upon  a  wise  cultivation 
of  the  individual  capacities  of  the  child  for  initiative 
rather  than  upon  his  simply  acquiring  in  passive  fash- 
ion the  culture  of  the  past.  This  is  a  broad  generali- 
zation which  must  be  interpreted  with  due  recognition 
of  varying  conditions.  Children  vary  in  their  indi- 
vidual capacity  for  initiative.  Some  persons  will  at- 
tain the  most  useful  lives  when  they  simply  follow 
unswervingly  in  the  steps  of  their  fathers.  More- 
over, the  importance  of  cultivating  initiative  in  pro- 
gressive societies  does  not  rest  upon  the  narrow  con- 
ception of  education  as  merely  for  the  making  of 
great  leaders.  It  is  true,  however,  that  the  qualities 
for  leadership,  for  which  there  is  such  a  large  place 
in  the  modern  world,  will  be  fostered  and  developed 
by  such  a  type  of  education.  But,  while  all  cannot 
be  leaders  in  various  lines  of  industrial,  professional, 
political,  and  social  activity,  all  do  need,  in  wider  or 
narrower  spheres,  the  capacity  of  self-direction  and 
the  alertness  to  meet  and  take  advantage  of  new  con- 
ditions. A  part  of  the  poverty  and  crime  of  modern 
society  is  due  to  the  rapid  changes  in  the  conditions  of 
life.  The  pauper  is  not  merely  the  inefficient  one; 
he  is  often  one  who  was  by  his  training  fitted  or  ad- 
justed to  a  social  and  industrial  order  which  had 
changed  ere  he  had  established  himself.  He  could 
not  readjust  himself  to  fit  the  new  conditions,  and, 
hence,  dropped  down  into  the  ranks  of  the  incapable. 

A  Slow  Process. — The  task  of  raising  the  general 
level  of  human  capacity  is  not  one  that  can  be  ac- 

303 


EDUCATION   FOR   SOCIAL   EFFICIENCY 

complished  quickly  or  easily.  If  the  higher  branches 
of  the  race  are  not  held  in  check  by  the  subtle  poison 
of  feeble-mindedness,  it  is  possible  that  they  may  rise 
still  higher  by  the  slow  action  of  natural  selection. 
The  rate  of  this  rise,  at  the  best  slow,  can,  however, 
be  increased  by  intelligent  and  concerted  action  on  the 
part  of  the  more  efficient.  For  one  thing  the  child  of 
superior  ability,  when  he  appears,  must  he  given  his 
full  chance  to  grow,  to  work,  and  to  have  healthy  off- 
spring, the  only  avenue  by  which  his  native  endow- 
ments may  be  preserved  to  the  race.  Furthermore, 
the  valuable  traits  of  all  normal  children  must  be  rec- 
ognised and  nurtured.  In  this  latter  need  there  is 
the  largest  practical  opportunity  for  teachers  every- 
where. Not  all  schools,  for  a  long  time  to  come,  will 
be  able  to  recognize  and  train  in  special  classes  the 
"gifted"  pupils,  but  all  schools  can  begin  at  once  to 
give  freer  scope  to  those  native  endowments  of  aver- 
age boys  and  girls  which  count  at  least  a  little  in  abso- 
lute human  progress.  Conscious  selection  with  ref- 
erence to  breeding  higher  efficiency  must  not  stop  with 
conserving  the  types  which  are  strikingly  superior. 
Everything  of  value,  even  though  it  be  minute,  must 
be  saved  and  used.  When  the  teacher  once  realizes 
how  closely  related  to  progress  are  these  qualities  of 
self-reliance,  of  eager  curiosity,  of  initiative,  he  will 
find  more  and  more  ways  to  make  his  school  favor- 
able to  their  expression  and  growth.  A  truly  pro- 
gressive society,  especially  in  a  democracy,  depends 
upon  all  its  members  with  properly  socialised  motives 
having  the  opportunity  to  use  what  powers  they  have 
to  their  full  extent. 


304 


INDEX 


Addams,  Jane,  quoted,  121. 

Adjustment,  education  as, 
a  half  truth,  17,  301. 

Agronomy,  51. 

Aim  of  education  among 
primitive  people,  6;  social 
character  of,  11  f. 

Animal  husbandry  and 
dairying,  52. 

Arithmetic  for  country 
schools,  46  f. 

Australian  type  of  educa- 
tion, 5. 

Babcock    tester    in    rural 

schools,  58. 
Backward  child,  school  and, 

295- 
Baganda,  2. 
Bailey,  L.  H.,  46. 
Bloomfield,    Meyer,    quoted, 

217,  219,  224. 
Boston,    home     and    school 

news-letter,     102 ;     Home 

and  school  visitor,  107. 
Boys'  and  girls'  farm  clubs, 

59;   social   value  of,  61  f ; 

in      Nebraska,     62;      full 

value  as  yet  unappreciated, 

63- 


Carney,  Mabel,   referred  to, 

41 ;  quoted,  46  f. 
Character-forming    influence 

of  failure,  256. 
Chemistry  for  rural  schools, 

48. 
Child    study,     a    suggestion 

for,  132. 
City,  pull  of,  31. 
Civic    life,    training    for,    in 

socialized  school,   160  f. 
Clark,    Miss    Lotta    A.,    on 

group  teaching  of  history, 

246. 
Clubs    and    gangs,    develop- 
ment of,   143;   farm  boys, 

59- 

Colebrook  Academy,  course 
of  study,  quoted,  51  f. 

Collective  life,  controlling 
force  of,  158;  effort,  253. 

Compulsory  school  attend- 
ance and  incentives,  128  f. 

Consolidation  of  schools, 
advantages  of,  38  f . ;  must 
be  real  country  schools,  39. 

Conversation,  educational 
value  of,  85. 

Cooley,  C.  H.,  quoted,  114, 
144. 


305 


INDEX 


Cooperation  of  school  and 
community,  90  f. ;  basis  of 
economy  of  effort,  92,  96, 
177;  and  character  devel- 
opment, 257. 

Country  schools,  see  Rural 
Schools. 

Course  of  study  adapted  to 
rural  needs,  44!;   51  f. 

Curriculum,  social  ideal  in, 
177;  relation  of,  to  chil- 
dren's interests,   189. 

Dean,  A.  W.,  quoted,  210. 

Delinquency  and  the  home, 
76  f. ;  play  as  a  preventive 
of,  120;  work  a  preven- 
tive, 203. 

Dewey,  J.,  quoted,  138, 
193!;  287. 

Economic  development  pre- 
cedes social,  17. 

Education,  a  social  process, 
I ;  illustrated  by  savage 
peoples,  I ;  relation  of 
origin  to  imitation,  2; 
beginnings  of  formal,  4; 
in  primitive  society  an  in- 
terest of  whole  tribe,  5; 
aim  and  social  need  for 
primitive  education,  7 ; 
education  and  evolution, 
7;  more  than  imparting 
knowledge,  10;  in  the 
home,  15;  in  pioneer  com- 
munity,  26;    as   life,    138; 


larger  conceptions  of,  262; 
as  adjustment,  a  half- 
truth,  301. 

Effort,  motivated,   133. 

Elementary  social  ideals,  15. 

Eliot,  Dr.  C.  W.,  on  self- 
government,  162;  motive 
of  life  career,  200. 

Endurance  of  primitive  boy 
tested,  4. 

Evolution  and  education,  7, 
280  f. 

Excursions,  class,  207. 

Facts,  exaggerated  impor- 
tance of,  in  education,  244. 

Failure,  positive  value  of, 
256. 

Farm  carpentry,  51;  black- 
smithing,  52. 

Field,  Miss  Jessie,  work  of, 
57,  63. 

Foght,  W.  H.,  quoted,  40  f. 

Forestry,  53. 

Formal  instruction,  begin- 
nings of,  4;  function  of, 
4- 

Gang  virtues,  159. 

"General  training,"  inade- 
quacies of,  201. 

Geography  for  the  country 
school,  47;  socialization 
of,  192,  242. 

Goddard,  Dr.  H.  H.,  on 
prevalence  of  defectives 
in  public  schools,  297. 


306 


INDEX 


Grammar  and  language,  in 
country  school,  46. 

Group,  influence  of,  in 
learning,  234;  group  work, 
value  of,  236;  higher 
types  of,  239;  character- 
forming  influences  of, 
252  f.,  258.f. ;  a  practicable 
scheme,  261. 

Gulick,  Dr.  L.  H.,  quoted, 
122. 

"Hesperia  movement,"  36. 

History  and  civics  for 
country  schools,  49  f . ;  so- 
cialized history,   194. 

Home  and  neighborhood  in 
education,  15;  pioneer 
school  and,  27. 

Home  life,  educational  in- 
fluence of,  71  f.;  respon- 
sibility of,  for  moral  train- 
ing, 72;  relation  of,  to 
child  growth,  73  f. ;  men- 
aced by  modern  industry, 
75;  by  "social  duties,"  76; 
spiritual  unity  of,  78; 
value  of  activities  in,  81 ; 
conversation  in,  85  f. ; 
sex-instruction  in,  87; 
sympathy  needed,  88. 

Home  and  school,  close  re- 
lation of,  94;  associations, 
97;  function  of,  98;  re- 
sults, 100;  various  meth- 
ods, 102;  relation  of, 
to    educational    efficiency, 


104  f. ;  national  organiza- 
tion of,  106;  home  and 
school  visitors,  107;  sum- 
mary, 108. 
Human  nature,  improve- 
ment of,  in  relation  to 
progress,  294. 

Ideals  and  practical  work, 
close  relation  of,  182. 

Imitation,  at  basis  of  J)rim- 
itive  education,  2;  too 
great  emphasis  on,  in 
modern   education,   302. 

Imitativeness  of  savages,  2  f. 

Incentives,  123  f. ;  social 
basis  of,  124;  a  recent 
problem,  126;  relation  of, 
to  compulsory  school  at- 
tendance, 128;  lack  of,  due 
to  inadequate  educational 
concepts,  130. 

Individual  instruction,  place 
of,  232  f. 

Individualistic  ideals,  courses 
of,  12;  need  of  new  point 
of  view,  14. 

Individual  capacities,  303. 

Initiative,    development     of, 

303- 
Instruction   and   personality, 

237. 
Interest,  basis  of,  132  f.; 
immediate  interests,  187; 
vocational,  199;  perma- 
nence of  early  interests, 
200. 


307 


INDEX 


Irresponsibility,  supposed, 
of  youth,  134  f. 

Jastrow,  Joseph,  referred  to, 

238. 
John    Swaney    Consolidated 

School,  40  f. 
Junior  Republic,  203. 

Kafirs,   imitativeness  of,   3. 
Kennard,     Beulah,     quoted, 

116. 
Kern,  O.  J.,  quoted,  65. 
Kerschensteiner,      Dr.      G., 

quoted,  204,  211. 
Kidd,  Dudley,  quoted,  3. 

Leadership  in  play,  117;  of 
teachers,  66. 

Learning  socially  condi- 
tioned, 236;  as  personal 
intercourse,  241,   243. 

Libraries  for  country 
schools,  64. 

Los  Angeles,  parent-teacher 
associations,  102. 

McAndrew,  Dr.  W.,  quoted, 

178. 
McLinn,  C.  B.,  quoted,   154. 
Manhattan      "school      city," 

172  f. 
Massachusetts  Industrial 

Commission,  217. 
Mead,  G.  H.,  quoted,  242. 
Methods   of   instruction   and 

the  social  ideal,  232. 
Motivation    and    social    life, 

136. 


National  Congress  of  Moth- 
ers,  lOI. 

Nature  study  in  country 
schools,  48. 

Nebraska  boys'  and  girls' 
farm  clubs,  62. 

Neighborliness,  need  of, 
266. 

New  York  schools,  a  plan 
of  self-government  in, 
166  f. 

Parent-teacher    associations, 

99- 

Perry,  C.  A.,  quoted,  264, 
265. 

Pittsburgh  playgrounds, 
ii9f. 

Play  for  the  country,  6yi.', 
social  value  of  play,  109; 
playground  movement, 
no;  and  education,  in; 
attention  to,  needed,  112; 
basis  of  social  ideals,  114; 
supervision  needed,  115  f; 
democratic  influence  of, 
118;  in  Pittsburgh,  119!; 
in  Chicago,  121 ;  relation 
of,   to  delinquency,   120. 

Practical  applications  of 
school  subjects,  184  f;  in- 
terest of  children  in,   188. 

Progress,  social,  280;  con- 
ditions of,  281 ;  compared 
with  animal  evolution, 
280;  relation  of,  to  educa- 
tional problems,  282;  uti- 


308 


INDEX 


lization  of  latent  re- 
sources in  human  nature  a 
factor  in,  285;  selective 
action  through  the  school, 
291 ;  dependent  upon  im- 
provement in  human  na- 
ture, 294;  retarded  by  de- 
fective classes,  295;  rela- 
tion of,  to  superior  ability, 
298  f. 
Pupil-government,  see  Self- 
government. 

Reading  in  country  schools, 
45 ;  socialized  reading, 
190. 

Recreation  in  country,  67. 

Responsibility,  habit  of 
personal,  213;  not  culti- 
vated in  ordinary  school 
exercises,    255. 

Road  building,  53. 

Rollo  books,  83. 

Roscoe,  quoted,  2. 

Royal  Commission  on  fee- 
ble-mindedness,  297. 

Rural  depletion,  29  f;  boys 
and  girls  educated  away 
from  country,  33  f;  signs 
of  an  awakening,  34;  co- 
operation needed,  34  f; 
lines  of  improvement, 
35  f;  consolidation  of 
schools,  38  f;  real  country 
schools,  39;  course  of 
study  adapted  to,  44  f; 
need   of  trained    teachers, 


56  f;  possibilities  for  one- 
room  school,  57;  Miss 
Field's  work,  57;  adapta- 
tion to  country  needs, 
23;  a  new  course  of 
study,  45-55 ;  rural  econ- 
omy, 64. 
Russell,  J.  E.,  quoted,  196  f, 
205  f. 

St.  Louis  Supt.  of  Schools, 
quoted,  203. 

School,  a  social  institution, 
7,  139;  self-government 
in,  158  f;  value  for  civic 
training,  161 ;  in  pioneer 
community,  24 ;  social 
forces  in  school,  240;  and 
immigrant,  292;  a  selec- 
tive agency,  118,  288; 
one-sided  character  of, 
179  f;  need  of.  social  mo- 
tives and  methods  in,  180; 
and  backward  child,  295. 

"School  city"  in  Manhattan, 
a,  172. 

"School  Citizens'  Commit- 
tee," 175. 

Scott,  C.  A.,  on  self-or- 
ganized groups,  253. 

Scudder,   M.  T.,  quoted,  68. 

Selection  and  progress,  283, 
288,  291. 

Self-dependence,  cultivation 
of.  255. 

Self-government,  162;  ques- 
tions at  issue,  163;  based 


309 


INDEX 


on  sense  of  social  unity, 
164;  success  dependent  on 
sympathy  of  teacher,  165; 
not  mere  pretence,  166;  in 
New  York,  166;  prepara- 
tion of  pupils  essential  to 
success,   168. 

Sex-instruction  in  home,  87. 

Social  and  cooperative  so- 
cieties in  rural  schools,  59. 

Social  basis  of  incentives, 
125,  136. 

Social  forces  in  mental  de- 
velopment, 239;  in  school 
w^ork,  240. 

Social   groups,   rudimentary, 

143  f- 
Social  life  of  school  in  rela- 
tion  to   social    ideal,  145; 
various    aspects    of,  146; 
social      "functions,"  147, 

152,   153- 

Social  education  needful, 
148 ;  growing  recognition 
of,  156  f. 

Social  solidarity,  aim  of 
primitive  education,  6. 

Social  aim,  11  f;  must  be 
workable,  19. 

Social  adjustment,  an  inade- 
quate educational  ideal, 
17,  301 ;  efficiency,  19 ; 
basis  of,  177;  relation 
of  vocational  interest  to, 
204. 

Social  ideals,  elementary, 
15;    more    adequate    ones 


needed,  18;  in  country,  22, 

33- 

Social  life,  increasing  com- 
plexity of,  16. 

Social  progress,  280. 

Social  centers,  modern  need 
for,  262;  relation  of,  to 
schools,  264 ;  underlying 
principles,  265;  spread  of 
idea,  o.d'j',  in  West 
Branch,  la.,  268  f;  in  pio- 
neer schools,  27,  59;  in 
modern  rural  schools,  65  f. 

Social  menace  of  defectives, 
296  f. 

Socialization  of  curriculum, 
183,  197  f,  199;  condition 
of,  184  f,  186;  of  reading, 
192;  of  writing,  192;  of 
geography,  192;  of  his- 
tory, 194. 

Spencer  and  Gillen,  quoted, 
6. 

Students'  Aid  Committee  of 
New  York  City,  212. 

Superior  children,  responsi- 
bility of  society  for,  298  f, 
304;  need  of  training, 
299;  serious  problem  of, 
300. 

Teachers  as  leaders,  66. 
Thorndike,    E.    L.,    referred 

to,  200. 
Thrift,   lesson   of,   82. 
Tolstoy,   Count,   referred  to, 

123. 


310 


INDEX 


Vocational  guidance,  social 
importance  of,  219;  con- 
ditions of  success,  220;  in 
New  York,  221 ;  in  Bos- 
ton, 222;  beginnings  of,  in 
grades,  224;  appeal  to 
business  men,  223;  voca- 
tional record  cards,  224  f ; 
sample  of  Vocation  Bu- 
reau's record  of  an  occu- 
pation,   127-130. 

Vocational  interests,  early 
appearance  of,  199  f;  re- 
lation of,  to  elimination 
from  school,  200;  social 
significance  of,  201  f. 

Vocational  education  begun 
in  the  elementary  grades, 


205;  developed  in  upper 
grades,  209;  New  York 
plan,  210;  character- form- 
ing influence  of,  211-215; 
compulsory,   218. 

Ward,  E.  J.,  on  social  cen- 
ters, 262. 

"Wasted  years,"  216. 

Weaver,  E.  W.,  quoted,  213. 

Welling,  Richard,  quoted, 
169,   171,   175. 

West  Branch  (la.)  Social 
Center,  268  ff. 

Writing,  Socialization  of, 
192. 


(1) 


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